Lost and Found
by Junsui Kegasu
Summary: Believing you are lost beyond repair is the first step to continuing the cycle. Believing you are found is ludicrous. Being found is both miraculous and possible. Slight NejiGaa. Alternate Universe. Chapter TwentyFour: Mature themes.
1. Lost

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: The plot bunnies (Hurricane-rider being one of them o.o;;) bit me. This idea had been something I was toying with for a while, but then the plot bunny came and bit meh in the ass. So...I present to yoooou...LOST AND FOUND! (Crappy title...it is taking suggestions as we speak...Donate!)

**Warnings: Excessive violence, child abuse, possible non-graphic rape, yaoi/shonen ai (probably more shonen ai), language**

Disclaimer: It would be very bad for the characters if I owned Naruto.

RP:nodnod:Trust me. She owns me.

HELL YEAH I DO!

RP: T.T Free the muse donations?

Note: **Bolded print** is Shukaku talking. He's special and doesn't need quotation marks.

* * *

Chapter one -

* * *

Gaara didn't know where he was. He just kept moving forward. It didn't strike him as abnormal. He was just...there. Almost like he was in a dream. 

A dream. He felt his eyes widen. Suddenly aware of the large, gleaming yellow eyes in the distance, he found he didn't freak out. Why did it matter anymore? Nothing mattered anymore.

So he should just keep on sleeping, since it didn't matter. That's how his logic was working right now.

Or, whatever was left of it. He was just watching a picture. He had no control over what was going on.

But that was okay, too, since nothing was really going on. He was just...walking.

If he listened closely, there was a voice in the distance. That had to count for something. He didn't really care what the voice was saying. It sounded slightly familiar...and sort of angry.

As soon as the thought 'anger' passed through his mind, things changed. Suddenly, wind was blowing in every direction. Clouds dark as the night threatened to spill their contents all over him.

But, there still was nothing. Nothing but the storm.

He was shaking or...no...he couldn't shake that hard. Someone was shaking him.

He felt the dream world collapse from under him and he was falling...

Falling...

Falling...

(A/N: Felt like being slightly descriptive...)

* * *

"WAKE UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" came the slurred voice. Gaara groaned. This is what had been shaking him. He was totally dead now. 

"I SAID WAKE UP! WHAT TH' HELL D'YOU THINK YOU WAS DOIN'! WE'S ONLY BEEN HUR A NIGHT!" He slapped him hard across the face, sending him flying a couple feet in his sleep-induced uncoordination.

"Well, it's not my fault we got in really late, FATHER." he hissed. He knew he was going to pay for talking back, but right now, he didn't really care.

It's not like it mattered. He would get hit for anything. Why not add a few more things to the list?

A burst of pain erupted from his stomach where the man's fist collided, threatening to push up whatever he had eaten.

...What had he eaten?

He couldn't remember.

Did it matter?

"Listen here." the man pushed his filthy face up against Gaara's ear, and the redhead could smell the alcohol that he always reeked of very clearly. "I has a rep'tation hur. As a form'r polit'cal lead'r 'n all, you gots ta hold up my rep, boy. You killed three cit'zens las' nigh'. This ain't good. I'm warnin' you righ' now. One more 'stake, and I'll kill ya. I'll kill ya good."

With that, the older man collapsed on top of his son (who, Gaara thought darkly, looks a lot like him) and snored loudly. Gaara gagged and pushed himself out from under him, clutching his stomach.

* * *

Temari looked up from the kitchen table, where she was preparing the three siblings' lunches. Gaara's room went very quiet. That wasn't a good sign. She was about to abandon her lunch making spree to go check on him, when he walked into the kitchen, still doubled over, clutching his stomach. 

"Gaara? Are you okay?" she ventured. He really didn't look all that well, now that she looked at her baby brother closely. Red hair was clumped from sleeping (which, she noted, didn't really help him) and his already pale skin looked frighteningly white. This only accentuated the now darker than before bags under milky lime eyes, and the large, hand shaped bruise on the left side of his face.

"I've had worse..." he mumbled, his head drooping. "What time is it? I need to shower..."

Temari checked the clock at the back of the room. "We have to leave at 7:30. It's about 6:45 right now. Kankurou should be just about done in there, and I'll make us breakfast to go when I'm done with lunch."

Gaara nodded, hearing her, but not really, at the same time. He quietly padded out of the kitchen in search of Kankurou and the bathroom. He didn't really know where it was. He hadgone straight to his room when they were done unpacking.

Frowning at a closed door, he knocked. He sincerely hoped it was the bathroom and not his father's room. Although, now that he thought about it, he probably already went drinking in some remote little bar where no one would dare tell a soul of his former position.

"Wha? Temari, I said I'm almost done!"

"...Kankurou?"

"Eh? Oh! Yeah, sure, just putting on my face stuff, come on in."

Gaara rolled his eyes. Kankurou was apparently going through a 'phase' at sixteen years old to put on this stuff. It was supposed to be part of adolescence.

Had he gone through that? He must have.

Or did he? Adolescence was something that NORMAL pre-teens went through. He wasn't very normal as a pre-teen. He never had been normal.

Shaking these thoughts, he walked into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, burying his face into his hands.

Kankurou watched him from where he was applying the final touches to his painted face. Gaara hardly fell asleep and let The Demon roam freely anywhere, but when he did, he was generally exhausted the entire day. He hoped he'd be okay.

"Gaara? Do you need any clothes? I noticed you didn't really...bring any."

Gaara blinked. He hadn't, had he. Oh well. "I can take a shirt from you. But these pants, I'll be alright with."

Kankurou nodded and walked out of the room, allowing Gaara to undress himself and get into the shower.

* * *

The redhead stood there, under the water for a few minutes. The warm, no, hot water streamed down his body, trailing over years of scars, some faded, some too deep to fade, scattered over his far too small frame. Gingerly placing a hand to the side of his face, he hoped that the bruise wasn't too noticeable at school. It was distinctly shaped like a hand-print, and him being discovered and printed as 'abused by father' would be considered a ''stake' in his fathers eyes. 

**Hey, boy, thanks for the joyride.**

Gaara glared at the wall. 'Don't thank me for it. It's your fault he does this to me.'

**Yeah, well, personally, I'm a bit protective over you. If you get hurt permanently, then this body is ruined. And that would suck for me. But, I give you rest after brutal beatings, do I not?**

'Only enough to keep me standing. After that, I have to recuperate some other way.'

**Trust me, if it were up to me, he wouldn't lay a finger on you.**

'...'

**Don't even take that as care, kid. If it was up to me, my host wouldn't be physically wounded at all, even by the person I owe being out of the damned teapot to. Gives you a larger chance of becoming permanently injured, and then I could either be stuck in a corpse (which is no better than the teapot) or a lame host. None of which are very appealing.**

'Leave me alone.'

With that final remark, Gaara turned off the faucet and stepped out into the steamy world beyond the shower.

Blinking through the mist, he wrapped himself in a towel and picked up his pants and the shirt Kankurou dropped off.

He went to Kankurou's room to change, as his windows didn't have blinds on them. Eyeing the fishnet sleeves (A/N: PRAISE FISHNET SLEEVES!) on his brother's dresser, he grabbed them and tried them on, finding that they were probably the only thing that he had worn in a few years that was skintight, and even just barely with these. Kankurou wouldn't mind, he didn't think.

Dressing quickly in black jeans with frayed ends and a black shirt with the words printed in red 'I hear voices and they don't like you.' (I think that one would fit him totally o.O) he went back to the kitchen, where Temari was feeding herself and Kankurou a plate full of poptarts. Gaara grabbed two, and the siblings grabbed their bags by the door and began the trek to highschool.

* * *

A/N: I realize that this is really...really...really...short, but this seemed like a good place to end it. Yeah...it's a good five pages. For the style, especially with Gaara, being so spaced out and kind of random and drifting off topic, that's more or less how I think sometimes, and I tried to put Gaara as much into character as an abused child who doesn't really have too much to live for (none of which I am. O.o; I just think funky sometimes). So...yeah. That's the reason for that. ALSO! Gaara can be hurt by his father because Shukaku owes the kazekage (which, in this, is a position very close to the top of the political chain) a debt for taking him out of the teapot and placing him in a living, breathing, active host. After brutal beatings, Shukaku will let Gaara sleep enough that he won't die. Because, if you think about it, if he doesn't sleep, any little illness or deep cut could kill him. Shukaku's just being selfish, so he won't live in a corpse. 

RP: That was the longest A/N that you've ever done, and for once, it wasn't pointless.

Shush up.

Review, please :hopeful cheesy grin:


	2. Neji

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Hi people! I'm back with chapter two! I'm glad people like it. It's my inspiration to write more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did…um…you don't want that.

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

The walk to school was not a very talkative one. Temari sighed inwardly. It never had been. Gaara wasn't one to really say much at all, and Kankurou was always listening to the music that was blaring from his headphones now. It was almost an uncomfortable silence, and that kind of bothered her. 

Taking a fleeting glance at her youngest brother, she noted that the bruise was kind of apparent, but it didn't look so much like a handprint as it did a large blob. Which was probably better off for him. It did look kind of dark though…what did he do? Slap him with steel!

* * *

Gaara spent most of the walk looking down, more or less contemplating life. He didn't really see the point in it. He was just…there. Things just…happened. Almost like he had no control. He felt entirely numb. He didn't know reality from dream anymore. He could feel this aching in his chest if he searched far enough. If he chose to delve into said ache, he found a much sharper pain, so he didn't go there often. 

Except…the pain was kind of satisfying. He had felt physical pain, but never something that he had inflicted onto himself. He kind of liked it. It gave him a sense of control.

**Too bad kid. That's not part of my bargain. Knowing you, you'll chop your arm off.**

'Just shut up.'

He looked up. They were at the front of a large building with a sign that said 'Konohagakure High' on a big sign with the villages symbol in it. Lot's of students were gathered here, but a few stuck out more than others.

There was a boy with bright blond hair wearing a pair of orange pants with blue stripes down the sides and an orange tee-shirt. He was such a bright spot, the siblings could hardly stand to look at him.

The orange boy was running from a girl with pink hair, who struck our trio (mostly Kankurou) as the stereotype 'bopper'. Whether or not this was true, they didn't know. But she certainly dressed like she wanted to attract a lot of guys. She wore a very clingy, almost skin tight, red mini-tee that exposed most of her stomach and had a low neckline to show cleavage. Gaara thought she must have shrunk all her clothes, because her skirt didn't really hide much past what it needed to. It hardly wentfour inches down her thigh. (I don't even know if they make skirts that short, but hey, Sakura's special. Konoha High didn't really have much of a dress code)

Chasing this girl was the strangest creature that they had ever seen. His hair wasn't all that abnormal, just a black bowl cut. He wore a green long sleeved shirt and green pants with orange leggings over them. Okay, not too strange. Now let's go up to his face and stare at the two fuzzy caterpillars that boy called eyebrows.

Temari could only think one thing. 'EW! EWWWWWW!' Of course, she only thought this. Her face didn't betraysaid thoughtsat all.

"Sakura-san! Please, allow me to assist you in whatever you may be doing!" yelled the eyebrow-boy romantically. (Or overdramatically. Whatever floats your homemade raft.)

"NARUTO! YOU JERK! DON'T YOU EVER TALK TO SASUKE-KUN LIKE THAT!" the pink haired girl was screaming at the blonde. Kankurou guessed that 'Sasuke-kun' was the person in a crowd of females dressed about the same as the bop (in Kankurou's words, that's what she was) whom they could hardly see, much less describe.

Gaara gazed ahead. He really didn't have time for this. Class started soon, and the last thing he needed were teachers on his rear end on his first day. The side effects of his nap were still taking place, and the fatigue was almost unbearable.

* * *

"Gaara? Hey!" Temari exclaimed as the small redhead moved forward, right across the fields, as if in a daze. Miraculously, none of the running students collided with him during his slow walk.

* * *

Of course, this meant bumping into the person that WASN'T running. Gaara looked up blankly. 

"Watch where you're going, punk." Sneered a tall boy with jet black hair that was held back in a low ponytail with two strands framing a pale face set with cold, emotionless white eyes.

"…" Gaara didn't really feel like responding. Looking down, he tried moving out of the taller boy's reach.

A hand reached out to prevent him from doing so.

"No apology? Listen, I don't know who you are, but in this place, things are done with courtesy."

"Let me go. Or I'll kill you." He said smoothly.

Neji blinked. What nerve this little kid had! Although, he wondered if those words had any meaning. He didn't look like he could manage anything that could kill him.

The redheaded boy he saw in front of him had a paler complexion than his own. Solid milky green eyes were framed with dark circles, which made Neji wonder about his health. Very prominent on the left side of his face was a dark bruise, from who knows what. Maybe some girl got pissed at him for being rude. Observing this child further, he saw that the pants he wore seemed to be a very small size, yet they were very baggy on him. His shirt was hanging and normally skin-tight fishnet sleeves were just barely clinging to his pale arms, with prominent wrist bones.

Looking back into those green orbs, he was shocked to see waves of turbulent emotions before they hardened to reveal no emotion he could have been feeling on the inside.

"Fine. I'll let you go this time, only because you're new." He sneered, still startled about what he had seen through the boys eyes. "I'm Hyuuga Neji, sophomore here at Konoha High. You are…?"

Gaara sighed. There was no point in ignoring him. "Sabaku no Gaara. Freshman, I guess." He mumbled monotonously. He looked at the hand in front of him for a moment before the older boy put his down. Gaara turned away and walked to the doors, just as the bell to go into the building was ringing.

* * *

Temari and Kankurou watched this scene from where they had stayed rooted to their places on the far side of the grounds. 

"Why is he not dead?" Kankurou inquired, shocked.

"I don't know. I think Gaara may have had somewhat a conversation with him." Temari said. She knew Gaara much better than Kankurou did, but she still didn't know if or not that was the case. "We best catch up to him. We all have to go down to the main office together."

* * *

"Sabaku no Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara?" the secretary lady said, smiling. 

Temari put a polite smile on her face. "Yes, ma'am. We need our schedules, please!" The teachers always had mistook her for little miss perfect, so this time shouldn't be too different.

"Oh! Such a sweet child! Of course! Now, this one's yours, and this is for Kankurou, and this one for Gaara. Unfortunately, although we would've liked too, we couldn't place you three in the same lunch period."

"That's okay, ma'am. We should be okay." Supplied Kankurou, knowing that Temari was probably very crestfallen.

* * *

"So, where are your lockers?" Temari asked, looking at her schedule. "Mine's 700." 

"807." Kankurou scowled. The lockers in this school were tiny (A/N: I'm making it like my school. We have microscopic lockers.) which meant he was probably close to Temari.

"739." …And even closer to Gaara.

"Okay! Good, we're close. Now! Where's your homerooms? Mine is 132."

"108." Kankurou inwardly sighed in relief. At least Temari was further away this time.

"107." …CRAP! That was the room directly behind 108, and you had to pass through a room to get there. (There was a map on the paper with his schedule on it)

"Well! We best get to our lockers then! Just for small talk, what's your class line up?" Temari really liked school. She was good at it. "Mine is math, reading, science, world studies, lunch, English (as in our language), grammar (like english class), and physical education."

"You have lunch early!" Kankurou groaned. Fifth hour was at 11:25! "Mine's science, English, grammar, reading, world studies, math, health, lunch." Last hour! Last hour was at 1:47!

"…Science, math, grammar, reading, world studies, physical education, lunch, English." Gaara stated blandly. He really didn't want to do physical education, for the sake of changing in front of others. It's not like he was embarrassed, but some of his markings were very grotesque, and the teachers might figure it out.

Kankurou groaned as he looked at his schedule. 47 minutes of him paying attention? How could they expect that! Sure, it wasn't any different in Sunaga, but he was still going to complain!

Temari found herself quite satisfied. She was in all honor classes, so she wouldn't mingle with the moronic seniors that all high schools had. "Alright, we really should get going. Here, Kankurou, it's your locker. Have a nice day!" She gave him a grin and continued down the hallway with Gaara.

**

* * *

Homeroom – Gaara **

The classroom, Gaara concluded, was very obnoxious. The orange boy from before was here. So was the girl who shrunk her clothes, and some boy she was swooning over. He had occupied himself with describing everyone's physical appearance in the room. The teacher hadn't even noticed he was about ten minutes late, the class was so bad.

Starting at the table in the corner, there was a boy who wore a large jacket with the collar very high. He also sported sunglasses. Gaara had figured by now that Konoha High hardly had a dress code, as both these items were forbidden in Sunaga High. His hair was very dark; if not black, almost there, and stuck up in a way that mildly resembled an afro.

Moving to the right, sitting next to him was another boy with a hooded sweatshirt, who had his fur-lined hood pulled over his head. Like Kankurou, he wore face paint, or his markings were actually real and therefore there for a reason.

Next to him, there was a girl, clad in a purple tee shirt with fishnet under it, who was probably the quietest one in here besides him. Her blue black hair was held back away from her face with two little purple clips, and she was busy staring at the table, every so often responding to something her two comrades said.

Next to her was a girl with brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail at the back of her head. (OC) She wore a forest green hooded sweatshirt and green cargo pants, with the zippers halfway unzipped so that her knees were visible. She was chatting happily to the quiet girl, who answered sometimes, as far as Gaara could tell.

He'd only gotten this far when the teacher managed to get the obnoxious people to quiet down and started taking attendance.

"Aburame Shino"

The guy with the high collar and sunglasses raised his hand.

"Akimichi Chouji"

A large boy in the back somewhere wearing a light blue tee shirt that was a bit tight on him with jeans raised his own hand. In his other, there was a bag of potato chips, which he was chomping on happily.

"Chiyuna Arisa"

The green girl smiled. "Here".

"Furikama Naoko"

A blond girl who wore clothing that seemed like a second skin flipped her hair back and raised her hand. Kankurou would describe her as a 'slut', Gaara noted.

"Haruno Sakura"

The pink girl with shrunken clothing preppily flipped her hand into the air before bringing it back down.

"Hiran Tsugu"

A tough looking boy with flaming red hair raised his hand and plopped it back down.

"Hyuuga Hinata"

The shy girl in the back raised her hand before quickly placing it back down.

"Inuzuka Kiba"

The boy with the fur lined hooded sweatshirt barked, and some students laughed.

"Irusawa Kyou"

A boy in the front who was quite obviously the nerd of the class raised his hand, readjusting the glasses across the bridge of his nose.

"Kamiyama Keiko"

A girl with long black hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in a while, wearing clothing laden with chains raised her hand, making a clinking noise when her chains moved.

"Nara Shikamaru"

Nothing happened for a while.

"NARA SHIKAMARU!"

A boy in the back snapped awake. "WHAT! Oh." Realizing what was going on, the boy, who had a gravity defying ponytail, slumped back onto the table.

"Orihime Sanjiro"

A blond boy with pants that sagged (you know how boys wear them nowadays…) nodded.

"Rasuude Noriko"

The first thing that most people noticed about this girl (Even Gaara, although, he didn't think much of it) was her chest, which bulged from her body in a flaunting matter. She must have been friends with Naoko and Sakura; they all dressed the same at any rate. Raising her hand, she gave the teacher a seductive smile.

"Sabaku no Gaara"

Gaara blinked, almost in surprise. Grabbing a hold of himself, he mentally scolded. Of course he would be coming up, they were in alphabetical order! The class turned to stare; he was a new face, after all.

Although he was used to people staring at him (it's not like he was very normal looking), it still made him uneasy, so his glance turned to the table.

The teacher continued.

"Tsuyoru Tsukiko"

A pale girl with jet black hair and heavy powder-grey eyeliner raised her hand.

"Uchiha Sasuke"

A expensive looking boy with hair that stuck up in a thousand different angles smirked and raised his hand. He sported a navy blue shirt with a large collar and white cargo pants. Naoko, Noriko, Sakura, and another girl sighed lustily.

"Urinura Koupi"

A smallish boy with dark brown hair raised his hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto"

The orange sunspot grinned happily. Now closer, Gaara noted the three whisker marks on either side of his face. "Here, 'Ruka-sensei!"

"Warai Fuunde"

A punkish looking guy raised his hand, still banging his head to music that was blasting obviously from his earphones.

"Yamanaka Ino"

The other girl who sighed in response to Sasuke'sfacial (I know that sounds wrong...)giggled her presence. She wore a lime green tee shirt and a white miniskirt, with long blond hair pulled into a high ponytail at the top of her head.

The teacher turned to the class. "My name is Umino Iruka, Gaara-san. I will be your homeroom teacher for this year. I'm also a counselor, so feel free to speak to me about any problems you might have." He smiled.

Iruka-sensei was a kind looking person, with dark chocolate hair pulled into a ponytail and a scar across the bridge of his nose, which was the same tan as the rest of his face.

"Now, as we're supposed to have a discussion in here, Gaara, will you share a few things about yourself for the class?"

Gaara felt himself constrict inside. He had never been asked of this before. There was nothing he could do to avoid it now. "Um…I come from Sunagakure in the Kaze District…I have two older siblings…my father was a political leader in Sunaga…and…um…that's…it. …Any questions?" It was amazing how modest he could be when he didn't know what to say.

Naruto raised his hand. Without waiting for Gaara to acknowledge him, he blurted out "How'd you get that bruise?" The class, stared, and a murmur of awe went through the class. "That looks kinda dark. What happened?"

Gaara felt his breath hitch and he found himself unable to speak. To say it was his father would grant him death, but to lie may not be very convincing.

Luckily, Iruka, as a counselor, could tell that the small redhead was nervous. "Naruto, that's a bit personal. You don't have to answer, Gaara-san."

Gaara nodded blankly. Was this how class was going to be for most of the year? Restraining like this? It was very uncomfortable.

* * *

A/N: SORRY THIS WASN'T OUT SOONER! To my three reviewers: LUFF YA! Thanks for the reviews! They made my day n.n. 

**REVIEW ANSWERING CORNER THINGEH**

Hurricane-rider (And Sand-nin-gurl too, since she was mentioned in there n.n): Whoo! I'm glad you guys like it! Here's your Neji! Since you're the one who gave me the idea for NejiGaa, thanks. It was originally going to be NaruGaa. You actually already got some of the little details…cheater. Shukaku? Can't think of something to say? OMG! CALL 911!

Hkokuryuha: I hope this is 'soon'. I didn't think so TT. I like that you think it's awesome n.n.

spork ai: His dad IS a bastard! Him being so was actually the inspiration for this. o.O The tee-shirt is slightly unoriginal; I have the same thing. I always thought Gaara and his siblings would be pretty close in a relationship like this. I like close sand-nin-sibling relationships. I hope this was soon enough for you.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	3. School

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Whoo! I return! Sorry for the delay. I could've SWORN I had the first four pages saved, and then it was like…non-existent so I had to start over.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sama is the owner of Naruto. I shall never own it, just use it's characters.

* * *

Chapter three

* * *

**Homeroom – Kankurou**

* * *

Kankurou was very glad for his seat in the back of the room. He had a nice view from here. The bops here were actually HOT! He could probably live here if he wanted! 

Well, it all depended on the cafeteria food…WAIT! DO NOT THINK ABOUT FOOD! He had only been in the room for fifteen minutes and people were already beginning to call him 'fatass' and 'lardo'. It sucked.

Everybody was just having random conversations. Who bopped who, who was sexier, which teacher they could bop, you know. Random stuff like that. Their teacher seemed to be getting into one of the conversations about some of the girls.

"Really! Wow, those freshmen…naughty naughty little girls!"

"Yeah, I know, sensei!" came the giggled reply.

Kankurou sweat dropped. His silver-haired sensei, who had been introduced as Kakashi, was horribly perverted. He felt bad for the poor girl that he got caught up with.

When did he get out of here again? About five minutes?

That was still too long. Judging by the noise coming from behind him, Gaara was probably not enjoying himself. It was like a very loud concert, combining both rooms together.

He leaned back in his chair, just enjoying himself in the environment. It had been Kankurou's goal, even as a young child, to be normal. However, with his bro- father, he told himself firmly. There was NOT going to be any blame placed on Gaara for what happened back in Sunaga. Anyways, with his FATHER being in his life, nothing could ever be normal.

He looked around. He couldn't really be described as normal here either. At least, not with his dress sense. All the other boys were clad in brightly colored t-shirts with sagging jeans. He himself wore a black t-shirt with the words 'silence is golden, but duct tape is silver' printed in silver and gold. He noticed that Gaara took his fishnet sleeves, so instead, his arms were covered in numerous wrist bands that had weird stuff on them, such as 'you smell funny', or 'dumbass'. His pants did not sag. (although they made funny noises if he moved enough! Praise the chains…) On his face, he had painted his trademark kabuki face marks (the ones he had in the beginning. The new ones are really scary…) Happy to find that Konoha High did not have a dress code, he took full advantage by jamming a black hat on his head so that no one could see his hair.

Looking at the clock, he noticed that the bell would probably ring in a moment or two, so he started gathering up his stuff (which he had scattered all over his personal space) and began stacking them in a sequence that worked only for him (i.e. – Smallest at the bottom, largest at the top) and watching as they toppled over before the bell rang.

"Dude, Kank'?" Said a boy with spiky black hair. Kankurou blinked. Where had this kid come from, and where did he get off calling him 'Kank'?

"Who are you?"

"Huh? Me? Abumi Zaku. My foster siblings and I reside in the back. We don' want you to be pulled in by those preps and whores out there. Wanna come sit with us?" The boy gestured towards the rest of the class.

"Sure, why not." Kankurou shrugged. If he had friends, he'd be considered normal. And he always jumped at a chance to be normal.

* * *

**Homeroom – Temari**

* * *

Okay, there were perverts in the honors classes too, Temari concluded. Ever since she had walked into the room (late, mind you) they had been staring at her. 

Scowling, she mentally cursed herself for wearing what she had. Although her clothing was not unbearably tight, it didn't hang off of her like Gaara's did. (Well, nothing ever hung off her and Kankurou as it did Gaara. That's just how it was.) Her lime-green top went a little past her hips, but it was fitted, although not skin tight. Her jeans we just a general size, so nothing was really too uncomfortable there, so why were the boys staring! She was ready to beat them all over the head with her binder.

"Hey, you. Will you go out with me!" A boy with…blue…skin said.

"Um, sorry, I'm really not interested in a relationship right now." She flashed the blue boy an apologetic smile. "Plus, I don't even know your name! Have you no courtesy?" Now she was just trying to get acquainted with others.

"Kisame" the blue boy said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"Oh. You seem like a nice person, Kisame-san. Could you help me become acquainted with the others?" She flashed him another grin.

"Sure. See that guy over there?" He pointed to a boy in the back, talking to another boy. Both boys had long, black hair. The one Kisame was pointing to kept his in a long ponytail secured by a red rubber band. He had twin markings that went from just below his eyes, following his cheek bones. He was wearing a large red hooded sweatshirt and black jeans.

"His name is Uchiha Itachi. He's a friend of mine." Kisame then pointed to the boy that Itachi was talking to.

This boy kept his long, black hair down, and it reached to about halfway down his back. His skin was horribly pale (Temari thought that it may be paler than Gaara's) almost bordering on white. He (like Kankurou) wore face paint, except; this boy only wore the purple stuff around his eyes, which were a gleaming yellow. He wore a purple t-shirt and black leather pants. He looked kind of strange to Temari.

"That's Orochimaru. He's a good person too, even if he looks funny."

Temari couldn't help but giggle at that. "He doesn't look THAT strange…"

"Meh. Maybe not. It's kind of freaky, though, I mean, he's part of this foster family with three kids in the year below us. He like…controls those kids. I feel bad for them."

Temari nodded, turning her attention back to the teacher.

* * *

**Physical Education – Gaara**

* * *

Gaara winced as he entered the locker room with his gym uniform. He knew there was no going around changing, even on his first day. The teachers made it very clear that if he were to not change, his father would get a phone call home. He almost didn't care, but then he realized just how hazardous that could be to him, and decided to start thinking up excuses for the many bruises he had acquired in the past week or so all over his arms and legs. 

He found where his locker was and dropped his stuff off in the big locker next to it. (Okay, for our school, as I said I'm basing this off of that, in our gym locker rooms, there are two lockers that you get. One is very small and is used for storage overnight. Then, there is one larger that is used for storing your clothing and other stuff while you're in class. It's a bit confusing at first, I suppose. The small lockers have numbers, and the large do not.) Realizing that Kankurou's shirt was almost down to his knees, he slid off his pants first, replacing them with the pair of shorts he had gotten. These shorts went about an inch or so past his knees, and the waste band almost didn't fit. Of course, he would never tell the teachers this, as the shorts were the smallest size.

Quickly glancing around to see if anyone was watching, he pulled the shirt over his head, and folded it neatly before putting it in the locker. Noting that where he had been punched this morning was now a really deep purple, he slid the gym t-shirt (also quite large on him) over his head and removed the fishnet sleeves before walking out of the room.

Surprisingly, he was one of the first ones out there. He guessed that everyone liked to lag, especially the girls. One of the teachers approached him.

"Gaara! Hi! Welcome to Konoha High!" said the teacher. He had long (shoulder length, about) brown hair that was pulled back in a black bandana. He was chewing on…something. Gaara couldn't tell if it was a toothpick or a needle. "We need to get stuff like your height, weight, age, birthday, you know, health stuff.

If it was humanly possible for him, Gaara would have paled. He knew he was underweight. He knew he was WAY underweight. What would this teacher think?

"Follow me." He said, walking into a back room. "By the way, my name's Genma, and I'll be your phys-ed teacher."

Gaara followed, numbly.

"Step on the scale, please."

Gaara silently did so, watching as Genma tilted the weights on the bars to suit him.

First, he put it on an average weight, about 120. Too much. He went down to 100. Too much. Genma frowned. 90. Getting closer…80. Perfect.

He looked at the redhead, bewildered. "L-let's check your height…" he raised a measuring tool out of the scale and had Gaara take of his shoes. The boy was only five feet tall, and just barely that. (GO SHORT PEOPLE!) "Umm…well, you're slightly under-average with height, but don't be too concerned about that. I'd be more concerned about your weight; you're about 16 pounds under something minimally healthy. Eat a good lunch, kid. I will send a notice down to the nurse about it. Do you have any eating disorders?"

Gaara shook his head. Did he? Not intentionally.

Genma frowned. "Okay, well, when was the last time you've eaten."

"…" Gaara wasn't even sure himself. When had he last eaten? Oh yes. "I had two poptarts this morning."

"What did you have for dinner last night?"

"We had just gotten into town last night, really late, so…none of us really had anything."

"Yeah, okay, this is definitely going down to the nurse, and probably the counselor too. You can go join the class; we're just shooting hoops today."

He just nodded and walked out.

Out in the large room, he noted most of the students from his classes before.

**Hear that, kid? Underweight. As in, not healthy for you. Which means it's not healthy for me. Start eating something, or I'll mess with your mind to force you to do so.**

'Again, your fault.'

**Hardly. Start eating.**

Gaara rubbed his head as he felt a migraine coming. Of course, the demon would do something like this.

"OY, GAARA! CATCH!" Naruto yelled, throwing a ball at him.

Gaara was caught completely off guard. The ball came strait for his head and collided with…

…A wall of sand.

"…Holy fizzle…HOW DID YOU DO THAT!"

Gaara blinked. Oops. All the students were crowding around him, wondering where the sand could have come from.

**I'm just special like that.**

'Thanks for ruining my silent and invisible existence here…'

**Welcome, kid.**

Gaara glared at nothing in particular and resided at one of the benches on the side for the rest of class. It's not like Genma really cared, anyways. He was too busy freaking out over his weight.

Sometime toward the end of class, Genma came back in, telling Gaara that he needed to get his lunch and go down to the counselors office as soon as class was over, and that he should go and start changing back now so that he'd have the entire 47 minutes of lunch with the counselor (the administrators refused that anyone be taken out of English class)

In truth, the redhead was grateful for the excuse to change alone. He was afraid that someone would ask about the very large bruise on his stomach. It really did hurt, especially if he tried to run. He hoped it healed soon, then, as in physical education, there was a tendency of running.

Poking at it gingerly, he winced as a wave of pain went through. This was going to be here a while…

Finally finished, he scooped up his stuff and walked out to go get the lunch Temari had packed (She ish a moderate cook in this; not horrid, not excellent.) and then find his way down to the counselor.

Tcch. Counselors. They never did much good for him. All the ones he had been to in Sunaga either hated him or were deathly afraid of Shukaku. Therefore, he couldn't ever trust them in confidentiality or for his own safety. One counselor had tried to kill him, but the sand had been there.

**See? I have my uses.**

'Not very many.'

Undoing the lock, he pulled open the bright orange locker, grabbed the black bag and locked it back up again in about 2 seconds. If he had been one for smiling, he would have. He had skills.

He occupied himself while walking across the school to the counselors office by trying to keep his head clear, and in doing so bumped into someone.

"You again! Is there something up with you that you like to bump into me!"

Gaara looked up. It was that kid from before. "Listen, I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind…" he managed to mumble.

Neji was taken aback. Generally, people didn't apologize to him after he had yelled at them. They just kind of kept moving. He sighed; might as well be nice. After all, the boy DID apologize. "It's okay, really. What lunch are you in?"

"…Next hour."

"Ah. So am I."

"…I won't be there today. I have something in the office they need me for."

"Oh. Well, for tomorrow, I sit in row two by myself. Feel free to join me."

And with that, they departed.

* * *

**Health – Kankurou**

* * *

"Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that prevents your body from sleeping at all, or at least a required amount. Without me going any further, who can name a sign of Insomnia?" 

Most of the class wasn't even really paying attention, so they probably wouldn't know.

Kankurou weighed his chances. Get on the teachers good side by naming the one he knew, or not…

Ah, hell! He was smart! He could prove it! Jamming his hand into the air, he waited for acknowledgement.

"Kankurou? It's nice to have you volunteer, even though we have been studying things like this since the beginning of the year."

"Darkened circles around the eyes"

"Excellent! Do you know an insomniac?"

Kankurou didn't say anything. That was Gaara's privacy.

"Anybody?"

Again, he kept silent.

The teacher sighed. "Okay, let's move on to why, although people in your age group would think staying up all night every night would be fun, is horrible for your health. Please read pages 134-141 in your book and do the response questions on page 141. If it is not finished, it's homework."

Most of the class groaned. Kankurou didn't think it was that bad. The response questions were horribly easy.

'Whatever. Best to start now so I'll have more time out of the house when I get home. As long as my homework's done, I have that freedom for a while…'

* * *

**Physical Education – Temari**

* * *

Temari shot another basket, fuming. The boys apparently thought she was the best thing that came to this school. Or at least her body was. She was ready to slap one upside his head! I mean, all this flirting, this staring…She had never got any of that in Sunaga. Most people had feared her and Kankurou in addition to Gaara, so she had never really had anyone look at her like this. 

That's not to say she liked it. It was horrible, having to be so self conscious about what she was wearing. She had never had to before! Perhaps she'd get used to it.

…But she'd never get over the disgust! Never! Konohagakure had absolutely no common courtesy to be found within their high school students!

While she was having this mental rant, she hardly noticed the physical education teacher, Genma, approach her.

"Temari-san?"

"GHAA! I mean! Hi! Yes!" Temari tried to make it look like she hadn't been caught off guard.

"Were you busy?"

"Oh, no, not at all! Go ahead."

"Oh. Well, I just thought that it was part of your business to know this. Do you realize that your brother is at least 16 pounds underweight?"

Now, someone with not as many wits as Temari would have inquired which brother. But, of course, because of her brain, she immediately remembered that not only did Kankurou not have gym, but that he had always been slightly on the heavier side. (Which does not mean he is fat. This simply means that he was a more a medium frame compared to the ever-frequent small frames) That meant Gaara. And she knew that. However, it would be awkward if Genma-sensei knew that she knew that.

"Ah…No! I knew that he was always on the tiny side, but never that it was a danger!" Actually, some of that was true. She hadn't expected a full 16 pounds.

"Well, he is. I have sent him to the counselor and the nurse knows, and I forgot to send a notice home to your parents about it. Would you kindly bring it home, please? And do encourage your brother to eat more often. It doesn't sound like he eats much of anything."

'Well,' Temari thought. 'I'll bring it home, but my father will never see it.' "Ah, of course! We will try to help him as much as possible!"

Genma smiled. "Thank you. Are you sure he's never been prescribed with something such as anorexia?"

"Positive."

"Also, I forgot to ask other information in my bewilderment. What's his birthday and age?"

"January 19th 1991. He just turned 14." She supplied.

"Thank you. I didn't ask you, did I?"

"Nope. August 23rd, 1987. I'm 17."

"Thanks again. Please, resume with class. And you don't need to be so violent with the ball."

Flustered, Temari dropped the ball she had been dribbling and flashed a sheepish grin (Temari likes smiling, can you tell?).

**

* * *

Counselor's Office – Gaara**

* * *

"So, Gaara, do you know why you've been called here?" 

Gaara just glared at the carpet. "I don't know. Genma-sensei said something about being too thin."

"Yes. You are underweight, and here at school this concerns us. Gaara? Please look up at me."

The redhead sighed, then tilted his head up to meet the gaze of Iruka-sensei.

"Have you ever made yourself throw up?"

"Never."

"On a daily basis, how many times do you eat?"

He shrugged. "It varies. A lot. I'd say 2 on an average."

Iruka sighed. "Well, you don't seem to be lying. Tell me then, do you eat willingly, or are you usually forced?"

"Willingly."

"Are you starved or are you just not hungry."

Gaara kept his gaze the same, and made no move to show that he could possibly be bluffing.

"I'm just not a hungry person."

Thankfully, Iruka nodded. "Okay. Well, Gaara, there doesn't appear to be anything really wrong with you that can trigger this. I will continue to meet with you, and we will start graphing what you eat to see how this came to be. Being underweight is not just natural, Gaara.

Gaara nodded, blankly.

"However, you are to eat your lunch in here. Just so we know that even though you bring a lunch, you don't just throw it out. This is just for today."

Again, the boy nodded. Picking his lunch bag off the floor, he opened the top flap, pulling out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He seemed to consider eating it, then reached in and pulled out a red apple, package of string cheese, and a brownie.

Iruka smiled. He seemed just like a young child. Of course, most of his students did to him.

**

* * *

Skip to after school, because the authoress is LAAAZY.**

* * *

"So, Gaara, Kankurou! How did school go?" Temari asked cheerfully. 

"Boring. I was tired the entire day." Kankurou drawled, getting out his music again.

"…It wasn't horrible." Gaara mumbled, keeping his gaze glued to the pavement.

As the silence sunk in, Temari's smile slowly faded. 'So much for conversation…' she thought.

When they turned into the driveway, Temari could hear Gaara suck in his breath and noticed Kankurou's head banging became a bit more jerky, kind of nervous. She felt the tension rising. Their father was definitely home. They could only hope that he was sleeping.

Entering as quietly as possible, the removed their shoes and Temari tiptoed upstairs. She was just getting to the second landing when she heard it.

"WHERE TH' FUCK WERE YOU!" A crash soon followed, and it sounded like something had broken. Temari sprinted downstairs to find Gaara had been blasted into the floor right by a large lamp, which had fallen on him.

She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming, knowing that she couldn't interfere. The man would certainly kill her baby brother if she did. She quickly dashed back up to her room and dove onto her bed sobbing. 'Where was Kankurou?' floated into her mind.

* * *

Kankurou peaked out from where he was hiding in the hallway leading to their house. He felt that if Gaara were to get really seriously injured, he'd try to fend of his father, or at least carry the boy up to his room. Normally, his father was careful (or as careful as you can be, drunk) to not break any bones, because that would mean hospitalization, which could both blow his cover and cost money. 

Kankurou could never help wincing at each of the blows his father dealt the boy. They were just…so brutal. And today seemed to be especially so, he noted as the boy was driven into the ground again and again as their father beat him.

* * *

Upstairs, Temari could hear everything. The shouts of their father, and the occasional noise from Gaara. All of it just broke her heart. Tore it in little pieces. It seemed like an eternity before the screaming died down and she heard Kankurou carrying Gaara up the stairs. She flung herself out the door and into Kankurou's room to prepare the bed. 

"How bad was it?"

"I'm not sure. I think we're going to have to use some type of cover-up this time…"

"I hope not…he gets rashes…"

"I know. But it may be really noticeable. That bitch was like…slamming him repeatedly into the ground."

"I'll go get some water and a cloth to wash some of the blood off. Is there any glass shards from whatever fell?"

"It was a lamp, and no, I don't think so."

This was normal after any beatings, her and Kankurou talking like this. Temari couldn't help but feel bad; their father only ever beat Gaara. Never had he lay a finger on Kankurou and her. It made her feel horrible that her brother was being ganged up on like this.

She gently hugged the small form on the bed in front of her.

"Gaara…"

* * *

HA! PHEW! Finally done! 

:pant pant: This was a long chapter! Be happy, peoples!

**REVIEW CORNER!**

**lilramona** – I updated! I'm very glad you like this story so much to keep telling me to do so .;

**Hkokuryuha** – Yes, yes Neji did seem like a jerk. I tried to portray him as friendlier above.

**Hurricane-rider** – O.o; I made it longer, just for you! If you don't know my number it's 4-

RP: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STUPID!

Oh yeah, we're on public internet. O.o

**FANKIES FOR REVIEWING! LEAVE ANOTHER ONE!**


	4. Sprained Morning

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Taaa DAA! Well, you know what? I just realized something. To me, EVEN TEN PAGES SEEMS SHORT FOR MY CHAPTERS! I must try to make them long…

Disclaimer: Doeshn't own it. n.n

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

Kankurou awoke when his watch (yes, he has one) alarm went off at about 5:30 the next morning. Turning to face Gaara, he wished that the smaller boy could stay home. 

Well, considering their father generally wasn't home, he probably could…

But it wouldn't be a good idea to take that chance. If his father did come home sometime in the day to find the boy asleep on Kankurou's bed, God knows what could happen to him. Kankurou didn't want to think about it.

As if remembering something, he reached over to the boy and felt around his body (Not like that…) to search for anything that could be broken. His wrist was awfully swollen, but Kankurou thought it was only a sprain.

When he got down to the ankle, his eyes widened. "Shit!"

* * *

Temari groaned when her alarm clock went off. Her and Kankurou had stayed up till very late tending to Gaara. 

She really didn't mind that, but she knew that she was probably going to look like a wreck at school.

She frowned, suddenly. Speaking of, how was Gaara doing? She padded into her brothers room to find Kankurou with stiff bandages. Her heart fell. "Is something broken…?"

He paused in his work to look up at her. "Yes. His left ankle is broken really badly and I suspect that his right wrist is sprained."

Temari winced. Gaara was right handed, so that couldn't be good. "What are we going to do about the ankle? Will he be able to walk on it once you're done?"

Kankurou sighed. "I hope so. I'm beginning to get really concerned, Temari. That man is really getting worse."

"I know! And it's not fair that we aren't beaten, while he's 16 pounds underweight and tossed around like some rag doll! What's more is that we can't do anything, or he'll kill him!" cried the blond.

"Temari…" Kankurou thought of something comforting. "Temari, he won't die. He's stronger than that. But shh…we don't want to awaken the demon. He hasn't left for drinking yet."

"Speaking of, if he's not going to be home, shouldn't we just leave Gaara here?" she inquired. It seemed like a very good idea, to let the child sleep.

"I don't know. I don't know when he gets back from drinking. Even if it's just a little bit before we get home, I really don't want to chance what he could do to him knowing we're not around."

Temari nodded. "I'll go start breakfast and put together lunches. Do you need to shower?"

"No. Do you?"

"Yes, actually."

"I can put together meals."

"…Kankurou?"

"Yeah?"

"…You can't cook."

"…Shut up."

Temari giggled and left the room. It wasn't much, but it was a small bit of humor in their lives that she was very grateful for. Turning into the bathroom, she began her shower.

* * *

Gaara was forcefully pushed back into reality when he felt the demon beginning to grow impatient with his resting. The first thing he noticed was a sharp pain in his left ankle and a throb in his right wrist. He cracked his eyes open, then blinked. Kankurou was at the other end of his bed tending to his left ankle. He tried to call out to him, but it came out as a small groan. 

Kankurou's head snapped up at the noise. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to signify his brother's consciousness.

"Gaara?" he whispered, abandoning his wrapping task.

Gaara just nodded. It was too much an effort to speak right now.

"Do you need something to drink? Like water?"

He hesitated, as if thinking, then nodded again.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Temari's cooking breakfast, so I'll bring some of that up for you too."

When he left him alone, Gaara wiggled his right wrist. It hurt, but he could still move it, so he was probably okay. As for the ankle that Kankurou had been bandaging, he could kind of move it, but that hurt a lot. He wasn't sure if he could stand on it.

**Kid, it's broken. Don't even try. I'm trying as hard as I can to make it heal quickly, but don't expect an overnight thing.**

'…What about school?'

**Don't expect ME to know!**

Shukaku decided to end their conversation there.

* * *

Temari stiffened when she heard footsteps approach the kitchen. Their father would certainly yell at her and take a lot of the food, and then she'd have to spend more time making more. 

"Temari?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Kankurou. "Yeah?"

"Gaara's up. Do you have food ready that I can bring him? Something tells me he isn't going to be able to walk on that leg. Do we happen to own any crutches?"

"You know what? We might own the ones that you had when you broke your foot a while ago. Like…three years ago."

"Oh yeah. How did I do that again?"

"…You ran into a brick wall on your bike and thought that you could go through it."

"…Oh yeah. Do you think they'll fit him? I would've been…what, thirteen?"

"If anything, they'll be a little big. But I think there's a thing where you can adjust the size."

Kankurou nodded. "Those'll probably be in the attic if we brought them. I can't see why he would've packed them…"

"Well, I'm just going to be optimistic for a while and believe they're up there! Here," she handed him a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a corn muffin. "Take this to Gaara, then run up to the attic and check."

Kankurou nodded and went upstairs as quickly as he could with a plate of food. He was afraid that his father might go in there while he was gone.

* * *

Gaara blinked at the ceiling. Kankurou had a lot of cracks in his. They occupied him, as odd as that seemed. He had already memorized all the cracks on his ceiling, so they weren't any fun anymore. 

He turned his head to the door. He could feel the power of the demon incarnate in him seeping into his left ankle, trying to heal it as quickly as possible.

He had always been a fast healer. It was one of the only perks to having the rabid raccoon in his head.

The redhead held his breath when he heard footsteps approaching his room. He hoped they were Kankurou's. They were too coordinated to be his father's, but one could never tell.

"Hey. Feeling any better? I brought you breakfast, and now I'm going up to the attic to see if we can't get you a crutch." The older boy said with a reassuring smile. Gaara could tell it was forced.

A light went on in his head (which was probably Shukaku) and he suddenly shook his head. Taking a sip of the water provided with his meal, he managed to rasp "Not necessary, I don't think. Shukaku's healing it." he pointed to his foot, then took another sip of water to try to clear his throat some more.

Kankurou blinked. "Oh. Well, I'm going to go one anyways. Just to take the pressure off it at least a little bit. I don't think that thing is talented enough to heal it enough to walk on for an entire day in less than 24 hours."

Gaara felt Shukaku go find a corner of his mind to pout at Kankurou's mistrust in his abilities. "Alright, I guess." He looked at the food and realized how hungry he was he hadn't managed anything to eat since lunch yesterday. He shakily picked up the pair of chopsticks with his right hand (which, Shukaku gloated, had managed to heal for him at least to be able to use it for a while) and began on the scrambled eggs.

Kankurou nodded and left, going as quietly as possible past his father's room to the stairwell that led up to the attic.

* * *

There wasn't really much up there, since they had just moved. He searched in one of the boxes labeled in Temari's writing 'Memories'. He rolled his eyes. The girl was too sentimental for her own good. 

He ripped open the box. There was a lot of stuff in here. Each item even came with a card attached to it. Kankurou sighed. He wished Temari wasn't so sentimental. That's why she got hurt so easily at the predicament their family was now in.

Searching through, he found some interesting stuff, and sure enough, the crutches, labeled 'Kankurou's stupidity'. He sweat dropped. Suddenly curious, he placed the crutches next to him and searched through the box some more. He found a lot of old stuff, including a picture when they were little, a picture of his mother, and a picture of the entire family.

Kankurou smiled softly. He remembered when this had been taken. On that day. On that fateful day.

**

* * *

FLASHBACK **

Five year old Kankurou laughed as his three year old brother tumbled down the slide. Temari was supposed to be watching the three year old Gaara, but she had obviously failed at stopping him from this wipe-out.

Over at the bench somewhere across the playground, his mother and father sat. His mother was giggling at the small crying redhead before going to help him. He probably wasn't hurt all that bad.

Their father continued to stay at the bench, where he had been for the entire time, smiling. A man with a camera approached him. "Kazekage-sama? I'm from the media. We're doing a report on how, even with hectic jobs such as yours, there is still a lot of family activity. Would you mind if I took a picture? You could keep a copy."

The man considered it for a while. The media could go after him, and continue doing so, or he could start denying some of the rumors about family neglection.

Back then, family was a big thing for him. He really cared about his family, so he chose to abide to the photographer's whims.

He walked over to the slide, where Gaara was now shrieking in laughter from a tickle-war with his mother, that he was quite obviously losing.

"We're going to get our pictures taken!" The redheaded man yelled cheerfully.

Kankurou went and stood by his father, while Temari stood by their mother, who held the still giggling Gaara in her arms. It seemed like the perfect moment; the perfect family.

After that, there seemed to be a gap almost in Kankurou's memory. All he remembered was that he was swinging. In his five year old mind, the world was perfect. Perhaps tilting, but still perfect.

Said perfect world was suddenly shattered by a piercing shriek. His head snapped towards the source: His mother.

"GAARA, GET AWAY FROM THE ROAD!" she was running towards the other side of the playground, where, sure enough, Gaara was wandering out into the street.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. His mother dove into the center (where Gaara had managed to toddle) forcefully pushing the redhead out of the way of an oncoming car.

He remembered crying, he thought. He knew Temari cried. He knew his father sobbed.

Another gap in his memory brought him right to the hospital, where a doctor then told the family that while Gaara had sustained minor injuries from being shoved so violently, their mother had been killed instantly.

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

Kankurou's face fell from it's sad smile. Things had changed after that. He blamed Gaara for the death of his wife, and hated him with a passion. That's when the abuse started. Kankurou wasn't even sure if his brother remembered the incident, much less why he was being hurt like this. 

Sighing, he carefully placed the picture (which Temari had labeled 'Perfect Family – Last Remnants) back into the box, grabbed the crutches, and walked back out.

* * *

Temari looked into Kankurou's room. Gaara was still the only one in there. "He's still up there?" she asked the form on the bed. 

Gaara looked up, then nodded. "I guess so."

"Do you…need help…changing?" she couldn't help but blush. While he was her brother, she couldn't help but have some modesty towards him.

Gaara's face was tinged with a pinkish color. "N-no. It's okay." He continued staring at the outside world. Kankurou would be down soon.

Sure enough, the older boy did walk in, crutches in hand. Alright, now, as soon as you get dressed, we'll adjust these to your height. You're going to need to borrow pants today, those are filthy.

Gaara scowled. "But your waist is so much bigger."

"Yeah, yeah. All waistbands are big on you!" (Random A/N: Sam: AND THEN SAM PLOPS OUT OF THE SKY…and randomly walks away. JK: …Go away, Sam.)

Gaara sighed. It was the truth. "Fine. He attempted to get himself out of the bed. After minor struggling, he managed to sit so that his feet were dangling off the side. "Go get the pants." He mumbled.

"Yeah, we're going to need to go shopping for you soon…I'll get you a shirt too." The brunette dug in his drawers and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a plain red tee-shirt. "The jeans are kinda too tight on me, but I'll need to get you a belt anyways." He threw them over to the redhead, and then walked out so that his brother could have some privacy.

Gaara blinked at the clothing articles in his hands. …He was going to get these on…how? Oh well. Pulling the jeans up to his thighs, he leaned back and maneuvered it so that he could pull them up to his waist, then sat up and buttoned them. Pleased with himself, he pulled the shirt over his head and waited for Kankurou to come back with the belt.

'You know…' Kankurou thought to himself. 'I don't think he's gonna manage the pants on his own…' he grabbed the belt and walked inside his room.

He blinked at the sight of Gaara fully clothed, waiting for the black belt Kankurou had in his hand. "Here you go…" he said, unsure of his brother's talents.

Gaara looped the piece of black leather through and buckled it in the front (mind you, he had to poke another hole through the leather to have it fit around his waist)

Kankurou lifted him off the bed (which was shockingly easy) and gave him one crutch to hold his support. Quickly adjusting the size, he went and did the same with the other.

"There. That should keep you up for today. How is your wrist?"

Gaara shrugged, then flexed said wrist. It hurt a little, but since Shukaku had really concentrated on healing that and his ankle, it was okay. "It's fine."

"Good. Okay, let's get going." He handed the smaller boy his book bag, and they ventured down into the living room, where Temari was waiting.

"What took you so long in the attic?" she said, scowling at Kankurou.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just looking through some stuff."

The rest of the walk was made in silence.

* * *

A/N – TADA! I WIN! Yeah, I know it's short, and probably rushed, but you gotta work with me here! There's seriously no safe place to type. My dad would look over my shoulder, and I'm at my friend's house, and his dad ALMOST started reading it. (I seriously owe Sam my life .) 

**HAWPPI HAWPPI REVIEWS!**

**xxkureanixshixx** - Ooo! Good guess, but no. That was a neat guess! If I hadn't already figured out why his father's a prick, I would've totally used that.

**DreamAnimeKitten** - Yah, yah. Ish sad. But, hey, we're all sadists at heart! Thanks for the review!

**NNCS a.k.a. NaruNaruChi-San** - I'm glad you luff it!

**Chronic-fever** - :sparkle eyes: I KNOW! NEJI SHOULD TAKE HIM AWAY:mental picture of Neji in suit of shining armor carrying Gaara in a sparkly pink dress thingie:

**spork-ai** - You can help the rest of the reviewers in slaughtering the kazekage. o.o

**Dragon Man 180** - :snicker: I'm sorry, I can't help but laugh at your review. You sound so hopeless that it'll all turn out okay! Do not worry! I only do sad endings in poetry! ...Usually.

**Hurricane-rider** - I KNOW! ISH SO SAD:group glomp:

By the way, my dearest brother (who wants to kill me for canceling his download...) is very happy he gets to be in this chapter. (See Random A/N.)

**FANKEHS PEOPLE! LEAVE MORE REVIEWS, THE STORY LUFFS IT!**


	5. Sex Offender

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N:yawn: Hi! Whoo! Beginning the long trek of updating! Actually, I think it might even be slower this time, because, as I type this, I'm downloading AMV's to put on a disc for my brother. Yeah. It takes a semi-long time to download, so I'm typing this out in between. Or, starting to anyways.. n.n;;;; Neji's in this one! Rejoice! I realize that time-wise, this is going uber slooooooooooow…So I'm gonna try to speed things up a little bit.

Disclaimer:does a mini dance: I does not own it:falls over:

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

Walking on crutches wasn't as bad as Gaara had first expected. Sure, it was slightly awkward, but it was probably better than walking on his ankle. They were almost to the school building, but it was a slower pace than usual. Oh well. It's not like Iruka-sensei would care if he was late upon seeing his ankle. Probably. 

When they got to the grounds, people were still there, so he guessed the bell hadn't rang. Glancing around for the boy that offered him to sit at lunch, he found him sitting at a picnic table in solitude. Part of him wanted to go join him, but most of him would rather be in solitude also.

Wait, why would he want to sit by anyone? He never had before. Scowling at his out of character thoughts, he switched his balance on the crutches.

Temari noticed he was having a hard time with the awkward crutches. "Gaara? Why don't you go sit at that picnic table? You'll feel better sitting than standing." She said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Isn't that the boy you talked to yesterday morning? You'll be fine." She assured him.

He blinked. Well, now he had to sit there. Great. Limping over, he plopped down on the bench rather ungracefully. He winced and began mumbling something incoherent under his breath.

* * *

Neji looked up when he heard a soft thump from the other side of the table. He blinked at the redheaded form next to him. Something was different. If yesterday he was bruised, today he was black and blue. Yesterday, he would have jokingly (not that he would admit that he made a joke) said that it was from being so rude that a girl slapped him, but what was all this? Neji was quite curious, but he wasn't going to pry into the boy. 

"…Hi." Neji didn't know, he just wanted to make a friend, he guessed. The best way to start was with a greeting.

"…Hi…" was the quiet response, followed by a cough.

They sat in silence for a while. Then "So…what lunch table do you sit at…?"

Neji blinked. He hadn't expected the boy to take up his offer yesterday. "The fifth row. Right next to the wall."

He nodded, committing this to memory. They sat in silence until the bell rang, signifying that it was now time to enter the building.

Grimacing, Gaara grabbed his crutches and stood rather slowly. At this rate, he was seriously going to be late. Iruka-sensei might not brush it off as well as he had originally thought. Worried, he tried to hurry, but only succeeded in almost tripping himself.

Neji watched him, debating whether or not to help. After fighting back his mental ego demon, he bent down and adjusted the crutches so the small boy in front of him wouldn't fall. "I know this sounds weird, and trust me, it is for me, but do you think you're gonna be okay on these, or should I carry you?"

Flustered, the redhead said nothing. He knew that he wasn't going to be okay on the crutches; he had hardly had time to become used to them.

Apparently, Neji realized this too. Gritting his teeth against the ego demon again, he scooped the lightweight child up and held the crutches at his side with one arm. Noting that he was surprisingly light, he began walking towards the building. "Where's your locker?"

"7-739." He stuttered, completely embarrassed.

"Hn? Mine's right by that. 742, actually. So that works out fine."

Gaara blinked. In the beginning, this guy struck him as a person of solitude. Not one who carried handicapped freshmen to their lockers and most likely to his first hour class. He settled for just sitting – in this boys arms – in silence. When they reached the locker, Neji bent down so he could do his combination. He must have been pretty athletic, because he had excellent balance.

Grabbing his stuff (a binder, science, math, and world studies book), he closed it up, and Neji walked to his locker a little further down.

* * *

Temari happened to glance to her right, and almost chocked on nothing. Her brother (Her BABY brother) was being CARRIED by a COMPLETE STRANGER at said stranger's locker. Yeah, she was freaking out. Grabbing her stuff, she marched right over to the black haired boy. 

"Excuse me, but WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BROTHER!" she screeched.

Neji jumped. He hadn't expected this. "Umm…he was having trouble. So I helped him. Is that a problem?" he glared at her. She glared back.

"Oh, just slightly considering you're a COMPLETE STRANGER!"

"A-anou…T-temari…it's okay…really…" Gaara hated yelling and screaming. He put up with so much of it at home, it was no wonder. He didn't like hearing Temari raise her voice.

Temari blinked, her anger forgotten at the small look of fear that had passed through her brother's eyes. "O-oh…Okay…I'll see you after school then. Bye…" Great. Now she felt horrible! As the eldest in this situation, it was her job to make him feel better, not scare him! Oh well, she'd have to apologize later…

Neji stopped in front of the doorway of 108. "It's in there? Through here?"

The boy in his arms nodded.

"Alright." He walked in, setting him on the floor right in front of the doorway so that he was leaning on him before quickly giving him a crutch to sustain balance, then another. "Okay, I guess…I'll see you at…lunch?" he asked, half embarrassed.

"Sure…"

"Okay."

* * *

Kankurou continued to give the boy the evil eye even as he walked out of the classroom. Gaara wasn't usually one for a lot of physical contact. As a matter of fact, unless it was him or Temari, he'd usually freak out. He didn't seem to with this boy, but that didn't mean Kankurou wasn't suspicious. 

Gaara hobbled into the room, late, and sat down. Unlike yesterday, this time Iruka noticed, since he had managed to quiet the class.

Iruka was about to give the boy a mark for being late, but he noticed the crutch and bruises and decided to question him about them instead. "Gaara? Would you please come here?"

Gaara stiffened. Was he going to get in trouble? If they called home he was dead…and this time, he was pretty sure his father would kill him. After last night's episode, just from walking home, he had no idea what he would do next.

"Gaara, just an innocent inquiry, but how on earth did you get so beat up in less than 24 hours?"

Gaara stiffened. He should have expected this. "A-ah…I fell down the stairs at home."

Iruka looked at him quizzically. Something told him that wasn't half of it, but he wasn't going to pry just yet. The boy needed his personal space.

"All right…We have an option for those in crutches to leave class five minutes earlier. Is that okay?"

Gaara nodded. Five minutes would be fine, if he could manage to maneuver himself better than earlier.

"Okay, please go sit down. I'm not going to mark you late because it's obviously the crutches that retained you."

Great. Now he was on the 'worry for' list of Umino Iruka, who was, dangerously enough, his counselor. Gaara was always afraid of counselors for their lack of confidentiality, and he was just as afraid of Iruka, even with his kindness.

* * *

**Gaara – Physical Education (This one feels like skipping a lot)**

* * *

Gaara hobbled into the gymnasium. He didn't bother telling Genma that he obviously couldn't play; he just sat down on the bleachers and waited for him to come over. 

Just because he couldn't use his leg didn't mean his arms were very strong, either. They were bruised and it hurt to propel himself with them as he was doing.

"Gaara? How'd you beat yourself up like that?" Genma asked, half jokingly.

Gaara, however, freaked out and used his excuse. "I fell down the stairs yesterday, that's all." He sighed. He knew it wasn't very convincing, but he hadn't thought up an excuse like he usually did.

"How long do you think you're going to be out for?"

The redhead shrugged. "I don't know. My brother says maybe 'till Monday…"

"Hn. So it's not that bad a break, or it's just a pretty bad sprain."

He nodded again.

"Alright. We're still just doing basketball, so you can observe, and I'll give you a paper to take notes with. We require that if a student is going to be sitting out from an injury that they take notes and hand them in as the daily participation grade."

"That's fine." At least it gave him something to do. He didn't feel like being alone with his thoughts for 40 minutes. Knowing the demon, he probably wouldn't be alone, but he didn't feel like talking to that thing.

He looked up at the teacher, who was explaining the different lines and what they were used for. It looked confusing. He never had liked sports. It's not that he didn't have the physique to be athletically involved, he obviously wasn't fat, and he had been told he was quite quick on his feet, but because of some of the bruises, it often hurt to run, or even jog.

He sighed and continued his note taking. Great. Now he looked forward to this class even less than usual.

* * *

**Health – Kankurou**

* * *

"There are different ways to determine if it is a break or fracture, or if it's a sprain-" 

Kankurou chose to stop listening there. Weren't they just talking about insomnia yesterday! What'd he miss! AND WHY DID EVERYTHING SHE TAUGHT APPLY TO HOMELIFE! (A/N: Magical author powers, Kanky n.n)

He sighed, bored. He knew how to determine if it was sprained or broken, hell, he had just done so this morning.

That only meant one thing.

Nap time.

"Kankurou! Pay attention!"

…Damn.

* * *

**Lunch – Gaara**

* * *

Gaara glanced around the crowded cafeteria. He wasn't going to like this much. All the noise and the people; it scared him. 

He counted off rows until he got to the fifth, then looked to see Neji there alone.

He blinked. Completely alone in a crowded area like this? Oh well, it's not like he minded, especially if he was going to sit there also.

Limping his way over, he scowled at the small seats. (The tables are those BIIIG long brown ones with the little colorful seats that like…NO ONE fits on unless they're severely underweight :coughgaaracough:) This was going to be difficult…

Neji would have laughed if it was in his character. Gaara seemed to be having trouble.

"Need help?"

The boy's head snapped up. "Uh…I….don't…I guess…" he flushed.

Neji smiled and quickly scooped him up in the same position he was in that morning and set him gently on the seat next to his own. He frowned seeing how well he fit on the seat. That wasn't healthy.

"So, do you have a lunch on you?"

"…" He forgot to go to his locker. "It's in my locker…"

"Alright then." He didn't know why, but he liked carrying the thin boy. It was an odd feeling, but he didn't really seem to mind, so he guessed it was okay.

Some kids stared as they passed by the other rows to get out of the cafeteria. Neji rewarded them with a glare that could freeze hell over. They immediately stopped.

* * *

Kankurou looked up as he heard voices coming down the hall. He had needed to go to his locker to grab a book, and while he was at it, get his lunch. Turning, he saw Gaara. Being carried. Again. By the same person. 

He felt his instincts acting up. He wanted to go beat the shit out of the boy for touching his brother.

"Oy. You. What're you doing?"

Neji looked up from where he was crouched over to let Gaara undo his lock. "Helping. Dear gods, are you another sibling? I already had one yell at me this morning. It's obvious he hasn't had time to adjust to these, and an environment such as this school isn't the best place to do so."

Kankurou glared at the boy. Eyeing how he held the redhead, a memory suddenly made itself to the front of his mind.

**FLASHBACK**

Kankurou made his way up the path to their sandy home back in Sunanogakure. Apparently, Gaara was having a friend over. That probably meant their father would leave him alone, lest his secret be discovered.

Turning the key, he frowned when his sharp hearing picked up sounds that didn't sound like his brother was having a good time with his friend.

"S-stop! Wh-what're y-you d-doing?"

The crease in his brow deepened. That did NOT sound good. He quickly turned the corner and froze at the sight in front of him.

"WH-WHAT'RE YO-YOU DOING? L-LET ME G-GO!" was the frightened cry that came from his brother. The boy was pinned against the wall with his hands held over his head. The taller, obviously stronger boy had him pinned both there and at the hips, where he was grinding his own. His head was buried in the 12 year old's neck, and it was obviously scaring the shit out of Gaara.

Rage pierced through his body, and before he knew it, he was across the room, wrenching the brunette away from his brother and slamming him on the ground. He heard a satisfying crack where his arm had broke.

"Get the fuck out of here. I never want to see your ass anywhere NEAR my brother again. Get the fuck out." Kankurou said dangerously, bearing a resemblance to (although neither he nor Gaara would ever admit it) his father.

The boy, clutching his arm, immediately fled. That was probably good; Kankurou thought that he would've killed him had he stayed or attempted to fight back.

Gaara stayed in the corner, curled into a small ball, with his shoulders shaking as if he was sobbing. He was a little skittish after that, even around his siblings. There was a large red mark on his neck for a week. That was the last time he ever had 'friends' over.

**END FLASHBACK**

Remembering just how afraid Gaara had been back then, a look of rage flashed over Kankurou'sface and before he knew it, he had tackled the black haired boy to the ground.

Neji had managed to set Gaara so that he'd roll away from this as the two older boys fought. Tears threatened to fall. No. He wouldn't let them. But, it was just that…Neji was a friend, he shouldn't be beat up. But Kankurou was his brother. He didn't know who was right, so his chose for silence, managing to pull himself in a half sitting position. He never realized how much he used his left foot.

He looked up when he heard a semi-deep voice. "Oy! You kids! What're you doing?"

A dean. That wasn't good. This one was tall (most his teachers were, compared to him) and had dark brown hair, with a burn-scar on his left cheek. The man reached over, and quicker than Gaara could see, had managed to pull the too feuding students apart.

"You're all coming with me. You two for fighting, him for watching and therefore instigating." (UGH. YES, WE HAVE RULES ABOUT THAT IN MY SCHOOL. Not that I watch fights, but I can't TELL you how many innocent people have been suspended because they couldn't get through the halls because of a fight!)

Gaara's mouth went dry. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Phone call home.

Phone call home.

He wasn't going to make it.

That man would surely kill him AND Kankurou this time. He began to shake. Kankurou placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't feel it. He was going to die.

That man was going to kill him.

* * *

Fweh. My pretty chappeh is OUT:does dance: Sooo…Yeeeaahhh. We're going outta town for Spring Break this evening, so you won't be seeing another chappie from me in a while. So, that's the reason for THAT delay. After this, I'll do that confrontment at home, and then we're going to skip like…a week. 

**REVIEWS: THEY'RE GOOD FOR DA SOUL!**

Dragon Man 180 – Yes, Shukaku likes ranting. He probably would've been able to protect chibi Gaara from the oncoming car, but his mother freaked out anyways. Instinct I guess. See, there are a lot of things that Shukaku could protect Gaara from that he doesn't in this story. Even though he said he'd try in all his power. Like in this flashback.

DreamAnimeKitten – Oops, Sorry DAK's Inner-Sadist! WAIT! DON'T GO INTO THAT CORNER, IT'S KAKASHI'S! (Loooong story…loooong inside joke about Kakashi and a corner…)

KageNoKatana – Yay! I'm glad you liked it enough to glomp Shuuki-chan! And here's the pretty update. …But there won't be one for a while.

spork ai - …D00d, we should totally stab him to death with a spork! THAT'D BE FUN! I'm glad you liked my flashback! This one probably wasn't as good. See, they weren't even in the original plan. It's just like 'Okay, this has gotta be here to effect this…I'LL MAKE UP A FLASHBACK!'.

Hurricane-rider – You gotted your Neji…Yeah, the grammar stuff was because I didn't get a chance to really proofread it because (as you know) we were at Sam's, and I began freaking out because his dad was beginning to suspect that it may not be 'school work' so I had to hurry. I didn't want him reading that chapter.

Chronic-fever – OO And I thought I was perverted! BUT IT'S GOOD TO KNOW ANOTHER PERVERT AT HEART! Neji shall mole- take care of him! nn

V-chan2k6 – I know he does…IT MAKES ME SO SAD TO WRITE THIS!

RP: Then WHY ARE YOU!

BECAUSE THE PLOT BUNNY BIT ME!

RP: You mean H-R.

…Yes.

:cough: Yeeeeaaahhh…but, I figured that's how the school would be, since it's like mine, and mine's like…ghetto. O.o Here ish thy next chapter.

**BE AMUSED BY THIS FOR A FEW WEEKS, BUT LEAVE A REVIEW FIRST!**


	6. Scars

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: You know how much I love you guys? I love you guys so much that I'm up at 11:33 PM writing this by flashlight in our van. I CAN'T SLEEP, GODDAMMIT! I'm exhausted, but I cannot for the life of me sleep more than fifteen minutes on cartrips. Power to the Pepsi that's keeping me sane. xx I wonder how long this chappie'll turn out to be. My handwriting is uber tiny, who KNOWS how long it'll turn out when I type it. Lucky you guys.

Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned Naruto, do you really think I'd be writing this in such an inconvenient time and inconvenient place in a futile attempt to keep reviewers at bay? Lemme answer that for ya : NO.

Random Note: Disturbed really keeps you awake when you have them on full blast.

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

Gaara had turned to stone as the three boys sat in the office, waiting for the man (who's name he and Kankurou had learned to be Raidou) to come back and decide their fates. 

(Random A/N:clings to RP: DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS SCARES ME THIS LATE! Especially when you're writing a story dealing heavily with severe child abuse! ...Shit. My family can hear it. :pretends there was no segment of a boy screaming at his mother: BACK TO THE STORY!)

He hoped they weren't suspended. God, he hoped he wasn't suspended. The last thing he needed was to have no escape from home. Even if Kankurou was there too...

His throat went dry. Kankurou would probably get beaten too. He never wanted any of his siblings to go through that.

* * *

Kankurou turned to the small boy next to him. He looked like he was awaiting his death sentence. Right now, he hoped with his entire being that for once, their father would leave his youngest alone. Hell, Kankurou wouldn't mind if it was him being slammed around the house this time. It was his fault, after all. He had freaked out about the long haired boy carrying his brother so casually. 

He wondered if Gaara was mad at him for acting without thinking of the consequences. Ah well; he'd get his punishment as he walked through the door.

A sadistic smile spread across his painted face. It was weird and masochistic sounding, but he almost WANTED to be beaten. It was better than watching Gaara get flung around all the time. He was always singled out; that wasn't fair to him.

He snorted. Their father didn't know what 'fair' was anymore. He was always drunk. Hell, Kankurou couldn't even consider him a father. He was like a stranger in their house that all three sincerely wished would just leave.

He knew how to make him. They all did. All through elementary and junior high school, there had been programs that went over what to do if you were being beaten.

But they always left out the threats. Multiple times as young children had he and Temari been cornered by the man, being told that if they told a soul about the happenings of home, he'd rape them all.

They both knew something like that would kill Gaara and surely break them, so they never dared.

(Random A/N: You know what? I need sleep. I ran outta Pepsi. Yes, I am TELLING you when I take breaks from writing...Even though no one probably cares. T.T)

(HOLY FIZZLE I SLEPT A LOT! I CAN SEE WITHOUT THE FLASHLIGHT NOW! AND I HAVE A CARAMEL FRAPPUCINO! Life is good!)

He sighed. An optimist would tell him not to worry, but it was hard to stay hopeful knowing your hopes would be crashed. This was all his fault for overreacting.

"Anou...Sibling?"

Kankurou blinked. He didn't even know the boys name! Well, granted, he didn't know Kankurou's, but STILL! Now he felt bad. Coming back to reality, he managed to find his voice.

"Yeah?" he said, sounding more drained than he had intended.

"I'm sorry. I had no business touching your brother; it obviously offended you. By the way, my name's Hyuuga Neji."

Kankurou stared in shock. This boy was apologizing, and being friendly about it after Kankurou had basically mugged him!

"Uh...i-it's fine, really. I just overreacted is all. My name's Sabaku Kankurou."

Neji smiled. "Knowing this facility, we're probably suspended.-" Kankurou almost fell over. HOW COULD HE SAY THAT WITH A SMILE! "As long as I explain this to my uncle, I probably won't get in trouble at home. What about you guys?"

...That's how.

Kankurou glanced over at Gaara, who had gone rigid at Neji's prediction. "I don't know. This sort of thing hasn't ever happened before." It was true; none of them dared to get in trouble at school.

"Oh...well, perhaps we can get together."

"Maybe."

Before the conversation could continue any further, Raidou (the dean) stepped into the room.

"Okay, you three. The principal, Tsunade-sensei, wishes to speak to you all. Before that, though, I am entitled to inform you that all three of you, starting tomorrow, are on a four day suspension."

Gaara felt the world go out beneath his feet. Today was Tuesday. That meant that they had...Until next Tuesday before they could be let out of the house. (If that's confusing, it'd work that they'd have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Monday suspended. Weekends don't count, but suspensions are carried over them like they're nothing.)

He was gonna die...

Isn't that what his father had said?

_'One more 'stake an' I'll kill ya! I'll kill ya good!'_

He gulped, feeling the cold sweat trailing down his back.

"Gaara?"

His eyes snapped to the owner of the voice: his brother.

"We're going to go talk to the principal, come on." he offered a hand to pull him out of his seat.

Gaara didn't think he could manage to get up on his own; his knees felt like liquid, so he accepted the hand.

* * *

The principal's office was actually quite plain, and what drew their attention was the lady in the large swivel chair before them. 

Gaara and Kankurou: ...Whoa...

The lady before them had one, well, quite distinguishable feature.

CHEST.

"Hello students-" CHEST "It has been called to my-" CHEST!

:cough: Okay, they're quite done with that now...

"It has been called to my attention that you two..." she gestured to Neji and Kankurou have gotten into a fight and you..." she nodded at Gaara "watched, and therefore instigated said fight. Now, there is one thing I wish to make very clear : I HATE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THEIR RULES. So, the punishment that you have received is a lot harsher than what I feel is necessary. I wish they could've made an exception, at least for the 'instigator' over here because he really couldn't get up and walk away, but unfortunately, this has not happened. Any questions?"

Gaara and Kankurou stared while Neji shook his head politely. No lecture? No yelling? No NOTHING? Whoa...This school was AWESOME!

Neji gave a small smile. "Thank you, Tsunade-sensei. If I'm not mistaken, the bell signifying the end of the day shall ring in just a moment, may we go get our stuff?"

Tsunade glanced at the clock on her wall. "HOLY SHI- Crap! You're right, it is almost time to go! I hadn't realized! Go right ahead."

All three walked out feeling slightly victorious; the principal obviously didn't care that they had gotten into a fight, and they weren't worrying about home just yet.

* * *

"So, where do you guys live? Are you walking?" 

"We live just a few blocks away, so the walk isn't too long. How about you?"

"It's not too long for me either. What street?"

"Buraudouei"

"Oh! Whoa! I'm right on Yaerii road, which is right off of Buraudouei."

"Oh. Okay. We just have to find my sister...we lost her today..."

Neji grimaced. He had met her...

"Kankurou! Gaara! Word has it that you guys got into a fight, and the principal didn't care! Ha! As if! You two wouldn't fight another student, like, ever!"

"Uh...Temari?"

She continued rambling on about how the rumor was probably fake without listening for a good five minutes.

"TEMARI!"

"WHAT!"

Kankurou sighed, letting out a mushroom-cloud thingie. "The rumor IS true...And this is the boy I fought with, Hyuuga Neji."

Temari stared. Blinking, she regained control of her sentences and pointed accusingly at Neji. "HEY! You're that boy that was carting my brother around like he was your SEX PUPPET!"

Gaara's face flushed the shade of his hair.

But if Gaara's face was red, Neji's was purple.

"Temari...we worked this out with him already...he just felt concerned because it was obvious that Gaara hadn't the time to get used to them...It's okay."

She huffed, still glaring at the long-haired 'sex offender'. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go."

"Neji's coming with us."

Temari - :Anger mark:

"...Fine..."

Gaara blinked. His siblings really scared him sometimes.

* * *

As Yaerii road branched right off of the end of Buraudouei, where the three siblings lived, Neji went with them there first before choosing to just go around the corner and walk into his house. 

Upon getting to said siblings house, there was a black car pulled into the driveway. For some reason, this appeared to have negative affect on his three comrades.

Temari paled, and her eyes looked slightly watery, and her hands were shaking almost unnoticeably.

Kankurou's normal scowl expression deepened into one of disgust as he glared at the car.

Gaara looked scared shitless. The cold sweat was obvious on his brow and his shaking was a lot more visible than his sister's.

Neji shrugged it off. Perhaps Temari knew her brother's were getting in trouble and sympathized with them, and the other two also knew that they were getting in trouble. It was possible. He didn't want to pry.

He turned to them, noting that all three immediately put up (or tried to) a facade to hide their displeasures.

"Well, I suppose...Well, no it's a definite. I know I'm not getting in trouble; I'll stop by tomorrow, okay? Good-bye. It was nice meeting you, Temari-san." he bowed politely, and then left.

Gaara let out a shaky breath. "W-we...we d-don't have a choice...but to go in there...d-do we...?"

"Unfortunately, no, otherwise you for a definite wouldn't be living here." Kankurou muttered darkly before marching up to the door and opening it like everything was normal.

Normal...what was that? Was he trying to pretend that their broken family wasn't so obviously dysfunctional? Is this...is this how life would be if he hadn't killed their mother?

Gaara shook these thoughts. He didn't need them right now; he'd dwell later. Right now, he needed to focus on not being beaten to death.

As horrible as it sounded, he was lucky that it hadn't been him opening that door.

As soon as Kankurou did, the man who had been waiting behind it immediately lashed out at him, grabbing the front of his shirt and forcefully throwing him at a nearby wall.

The crash shook the house. The other two, who were terrified to move, could only stare on in shock.

Surprisingly, it was Gaara who moved first.

'I'm not...I'm not letting him get hurt too...No...he never did anything...I killed Mom...'

He didn't notice the tears streaking down his pale face and dripping off his chin at all as he stood in the doorway, watching his brother go through what he did...

He had to do something.

With this sudden burst of courage he currently sported, he dropped the crutches, took a running start and pounced on his father's back, knocking him off his brother, but not off balance. He only realized much later that he had done this on his bad ankle, which he guessed, due to the demon, was okay to do that on for a short period of time.

He kicked and clawed at what he could, going blindly in his rage.

Finally, the man managed to yank the redhead off of him and send him into the ground as well.

He was screaming now, but none of the two really noticed.

When he was done screaming (which could have been, in a normal family, a lecture about why fighting in school was bad) he yanked Gaara up by the hair and shoved him up the stairs into his room, where he could 'deal' with him privately, without his other son pouncing on him.

Kankurou had managed to pull himself up so that he was standing, but could still only watch as the man dragged the petite boy up the stairs, screaming the entire way.

He winced. His back was definitely bruised beyond belief and face was going to look horrible tomorrow.

Was this how Gaara lived all the time?

Now that he had gotten a small taste of it, he yearned evermore to just tell the police...but the threats...

He clutched his brown, spiky head in his hands. Why did the threats retain them so...? Why?

Why everything?

Temari must have come over with bandages and things, but he didn't notice her, or acknowledge her in his thought-fest.

* * *

Hours later, Gaara was tossed back down the stairs like a lifeless doll, with the command to 'get out of his face'. 

By this point, Kankurou had gone out of his thinking mood and had been sitting in silence with Temari, waiting for this.

He gently padded over and lifted the unconscious boy into his arms, laying him out on the couch in fear of going back upstairs.

Thankfully, nothing had broken this time. At least, physically.

Both knew their brother would never be okay emotionally.

And as much as it pained them, all they could do was just make him as comfortable as possible. Because some scars never fade.

* * *

A/N: ACK! I got morbid with this! I WAS going to have the next day with Neji in it, but I decided to just end it there, because it was a good ending place. 

SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! I was on break, and I was working on it yesterday and today, but it's hard to write right now because my dad wants to read this, and I refuse to let him because

A) He'll immediately think I've based the Kaze-bastards character off of him.

B) It's rated R and I'm hardly 13.

C) I get self-conscious when they read ANY of my works, this being no exception...

So, yeah...updates may be slower than they already are, but right now, I am striving to catch up to Vindicated, who's at CHAPTER 10! YAARGH!

**RESPONSE CORNER! HOLY CRAP I GOT A LOT OF REVIEWS!**

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black -** Yay! I'm glad I made you laugh, even if that wasn't the intention. Some of it was, so if you laughed, I'll assume that's where o.o Carousel isn't going near as slow as this. Six chapters and they just ended their second day in school...

**Jun -** Ah, well, it's supposed to be sad, so I'm glad you think it's great also. It makes me feel accomplished.

**yaoi-luven-freak -** ...Yeah, I already responded to some of your reviews, but for this...um...o.o I doesn't like physical contact; if you poke me I die and then the story dies, and you wouldn't do that to the reviewers...would you?

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut -** :sparkle eyes: Yes, Gaara living at Neji's would be very romantic...probably...way too much so...Um...yeah...I'd have to boost the rating thing to 'AO' (Is that how they're doing the ratings now? It's horribly confuzzling...) I will kill the kaze-bastard, and all the reviewers will help me. Just watch, it'll be a bonus chapter! (RP: STOP SPOILING PEOPLE!)

**DownRight-evil -** I'm glad you got that into the story n.n;;; The kaze-bastard will die, don't worry, don't worry...Wow! I made you cry! I'M SORRY! That wasn't my intention, but if you felt it that much, I must be doing something right! Naruto is obnoxious in general. You love me? O.o I luff j00 too. Only the kaze-bastard has no heart and cannot fall for Gaara's absolute kawaii-ness and beat him! YAARGH!

**DreamAnimeKitten -** Oh good, I wouldn't want to make her mad n.n;;; I thought the Neji thing was kawaii too. It must have been very amusing.

**Chronic-fever -** LMAO! Your reviews make me laugh so hard. Neji shall continue to molest our little Gaara, DO NOT WORRY! BWAHAHA! Kanky is very overprotective, you're right. Maybe he DOES just want a piece for himself...Hmm...I like KankyGaa! o.o;;;

**Jen-beyblade- fan -** Thanks. I'm glad you think it's awesome n.n

**V-chan2k6 -** Yeah! Go Neji! Wow. I'm glad you think I'm not rushing; apparently I have a problem with that. Yes, yes, that's how I was... 'Good Neji for mole- holding Gaara...bad Neji for doing it in front of the siblings...' 'Good Kanky for caring...Stupid Kanky for forgetting to think...' And then I remember that I made them do that and it's like 'Who's the stupid one now?' :cough: Sorry. I guess you're gonna hafta sick your Über Mafioso-Ninjas on him...

**Hurricane-rider -** I know, I know. I'm so evil to you. O.o Well, you gotted stuffs before they did, so maybe not. YAARGH! VINDICATED GOT SO AHEAD! CURSE YOU FOR HAVING NO LIFE!

**spork-ai -** I liked the Neji carrying thing too. It was quite amusing. Well, the good news is, Gaara isn't dead. The bad news is, his beating was severe (RP: YOU SPOILED HER.) Oops... Yes shonen-ai ish very luffly. It rocks socks.

**Dragon Man 180 -** Iruka has Naruto on his 'attempting not to murder every day' list. He's got Sasuke on his 'silent, but good student' list (THAT'S MY LIST!). Yes, Iruka organizes these things. Kanky ish a good bwuvva, but he does need get a brain. :nodnod:

**AnimeGirl189 (WHO DID NOT REVIEW, BUT INSTEAD PROCEEDED TO SEND 14 DIFFERENT E-MAILS POINTING OUT 14 DIFFERENT THINGS. Bastard...) -** ...For one, you're a jerk. I WANNA SEE THE PRETTY PICTURES! Um...I only remember a little of what you commented on...lesse...

1) SHUT UP. IT IS FACE STUFF. It can be 'Kabuki ceremonial paint' in YOUR story! (WHICH YOU DON'T HAVE! HA HA HA!) But, come on now, what teenager in their right mind would call it that! Duh! Sorry Kanky, you're just...not that smart.

2) Temari's cooking isn't really a proven fact...just a very widespread theory. Which H-R and I changed in this. Whoo.

3) Neji managed the crutches because he's just magical like that. Of course, you know that now, SINCE THAT WAS ONE OF THE PICS YOU DREW!

Extra note - Before I get flamed for being 'mean to a reviewer' the world should know that not only is she not a reviewer, but she's my cousin and I get to be mean to her because I has magical authoress powers and she has magical artist powers, so it all works out.

Random note - Isn't it ironic how in our RP little thing, Neji is such a bad person and we already changed it to KankyGaa? O.o;;;

**REVIEW PEEZ! IT BOOSTS CONFIDENCE!**


	7. Almost Mall Trip

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I need...to...catch up...to...Vindicated!

Disclaimer: Don' own it.

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

Kankurou didn't think he'd ever say it, but he was grateful for their suspension. Gaara definitely needed to stay home; the last confrontation had left him with a fever of 103. So, now, he didn't have to worry about leaving him here alone. 

Surprisingly enough, their 'father' hadn't said a word to them before going to drink his sorrows away. Kankurou thought he would finish business with him, but all he had done was send a glare across the room, which only he had detected. Gaara was still asleep, or unconscious. Either way, he hadn't seen it.

Furrowing his brow, which was for one not painted over with the FACE STUFF (:COUGHANIMEGIRL189COUGH:) that he usually wore, he once again thought back on why he hadn't been beaten into a bloody pulp.

He couldn't really remember, but he thought he remembered a flash of red before their father had been knocked off of him.

Had Gaara come and rescued him? He didn't think his brother had the courage, but he wouldn't not believe in him. He was taking a big step doing something like that, though. Gaara had always shriveled back in fear where the man was concerned.

There had to have been something else other than getting into trouble at school that happened...and he knew it was important...

He just couldn't for the life of him remember what yesterday had been. He'd probably feel bad later if and when he remembered, but whatever. For now, he had to worry about getting the redhead to wake up before the demon grew impatient.

What was beyond him was how their 'father' had managed to seal a demon into the infant and still keep his mother happy. I mean, he couldn't have done it discreetly; one of the side effects was his insomnia!

Sighing, he winced at the pain in his own back. Gaara had actually gotten off a lot easier than Kankurou had thought, with more large, dark bruises and welts than cuts or abrasions. That perplexed him also. Gaara had been up there for...well, maybe it had just seemed like hours.

It was all quite confusing to him, so he decided to just stop thinking and watch his brother.

...But WHY couldn't he remember what yesterday was! Maybe if he knew the date, it wouldn't bother him so much, but there was just this nagging feeling that something important happened on the date of yesterday. ...Whatever that was.

His head snapped up as he heard a small sound from the redhead next to him. Gaara rolled over, which was probably quite painful due to a nasty bruise on his side, and with a sharp intake of breath, woke up.

"Hey..."

"Hi..."

They sat like that for a while, Gaara trying to collect himself, which he generally had to do after sleeping, and Kankurou still trying to figure out what yesterday was.

He didn't want to ask Gaara, because he was afraid that if something bad had happened that he SHOULD remember, but right now couldn't, he'd offend the smaller boy.

"Kankurou...is...I mean...Was..." he mumbled something incoherent.

"Hm? Go on, you can ask. I won't ridicule you or anything" (Ooo...Kanky used big words! ((put in for the sharp reaction she knows she will get from her cousin)))

"Was...was it my fault...that Mom died...?" He said softly, almost inaudibly.

Something went off in Kankurou's head. THAT'S what yesterday had been! How could he have forgotten something that important! Yesterday had marked the day that, exactly 11 years ago, their mother had died saving her toddler from an oncoming car.

"NO! Never! Don't you EVER think like that, Gaara! EVER." he said firmly. He believed it, too. It hadn't been Gaara's fault he was where he was; and mom didn't have to have saved him. It wasn't an obligation, but it had been her final act of love.

Gaara sighed and looked down, playing with his hands. "He...he didn't come at you again, did he?" he asked, changing the subject.

Kankurou shook his head. "No, but you got off okay this time."

Gaara nodded blankly. "Yeah...I guess...But...that's 'cause...I tried fending him off."

If Kankurou hadn't any dignity, his jaw would have dropped to the floor. "Y-you did! That's GREAT Gaara! That's awesome for you!"

A small flush tinted the pale cheeks. "I was just...so afraid...so I let my body go on auto-pilot, or whatever..."

Kankurou grinned, and pulled his smaller brother into a gentle hug, so as not to disturb the bruises.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Both brothers exchanged glances. Their father wouldn't knock, so who was it?

Kankurou stood up to go check, since Gaara was currently wearing nothing but a large t-shirt that had a stretched neckline, so it showed a good portion down his chest and a pair of pajama pants. He himself wore pajama pants, but his shirt didn't have such a stretched neck, so he went.

Yes, their logic defies all logic. But who cares?

He was surprised to find Neji at the door.

"...You remembered where we live?"

"Yup! Hi! Hope you don't mind this so early!"

"No, of course not", he said, glancing at the clock. It was only 8:30? "Just, hold on before coming in, Gaara and I should probably change out of pajamas..." he said, flashing a sheepish grin before leaving Neji to go get him and his brother dressed.

"Oy, Gaara! Temari washed your pants! I'll still give ya a shirt, okay?"

Gaara mumbled his response, but Kankurou didn't really care about what it was; the boy wouldn't refuse clothing. He tossed the clothing items over the landing, where they landed near the couch and left to go up to his room to change.

Gaara sweatdropped. So he was changing down here in the living room? He glanced around to make sure all the blinds were closed before quickly pulling on the pants, noting that the pain in his ankle had subsided to a dull ache. He easily pulled the whitish grey shirt over his head and slipped Kankurou's on just as easily.

He scowled. This shirt must have been big on Kankurou, because the neck opening almost went to the edge of his shoulders and a bit far down. Oh well. His brother was being generous lending him clothing.

Rolling up the sleeves of the large shirt, he stood up to test out his ankle. To his surprise, he could walk fairly easily on it, and only with a slight limp. He quickly limped up the stairs to go claim the bathroom before Kankurou.

Brushing his teeth didn't take too long, and he quickly wet down his hair to tame his bed head.

By this time, Kankurou had started banging on the door. Rolling his eyes, he quickly pulled it open and stepped out.

"Who was at the door?"

"Neji. Let him in now, okay?"

The redhead nodded, then limped back down the stairs to the front door.

Upon opening it, he found Neji with a 'dot eye' face.

"Hi."

"..."

"..."

Silence.

"...Wanna come in?"

"...Sure."

Where said silence was coming from, Gaara had no clue. But Neji did.

'HOW DID HE MANAGE TO DO THAT IN A MINUTE FLAT!'

"So...anything you wanna do today? Are you two in trouble?"

"Actually, not really. I don't think so anyways. I don't know what I want to do."

"What about the mall or something?"

"I guess that'd work. I haven't been to one in a while...Kankurou says I need new clothes."

"Mm. So, the mall?"

"Let's see. KANKUROU, WANNA GO TO THE MALL WITH NEJI?" he suddenly shouted, shocking the crap out of Neji, who had no idea the petite freshman beside him could possibly vocalize that loud.

"SURE! WE NEED TO GET YOU CLOTHES THOUGH!" came the just-as-loud shout from somewhere upstairs.

The redhead sighed. "FINE."

Neji stared. He seemed so open at home. At school, he looked so paranoid of the world around him. He actually found it kind of cute...

Wait. He did NOT just call the new student at school cute. He had long ago accepted that he was either homo or bisexual, but he still didn't want to pressure either of them with these feelings.

Silence sunk in for a few more minutes, as Kankurou was taking quite a while in the bathroom.

Neji took this time to examine the 'object of his affections'. He really didn't look like he should be out of the house, he concluded. His face was slightly flushed, and there were a couple bruises on the side of his head. He must've gotten sick or something.

It was then Kankurou decided to tromp (:giggle: That's a funny word...tromp...) down the stairs rather noisily and walk over to the pair.

"Hey, Neji." he said, grinning through his FACE STUFF.

"Hi. So...the mall it is?"

"Yeah. Just one thing." he whipped out a thermometer from nowhere and stood in front of Gaara.

"Open, please." he said, cheerfully.

Gaara stared.

"You had a fever this morning, I'm just checking if it went down."

"...Oh." he opened his mouth just enough for the older boy to stick the thermometer under his tongue before snapping it shut.

He sighed and turned to Neji. "Gaara doesn't like thermometers. He used to have a lot of fevers as a younger child, so now he doesn't really care for them at all."

"Mamm Meii!" (Damn Strait)

Both boys laughed at Gaara's attempt to join into the conversation. Kankurou popped the thermometer out of his mouth. "Thank you."

He read the small little red line (random note: I WANNA PLAY WITH MERCURY! DUDE, THAT'D BE FUN!) then smiled.

"It went down to 101, so you're fine to go."

"Are you sure he's okay to go?" Neji asked, concerned.

"Yeah, he'll be okay. He really needs new clothes..."

"I don't know, Kankurou...101 is kind of high..."

"Well...Gaara, do you want to go, still?"

Gaara swallowed, hesitating. In truth, he felt really dizzy and still was experiencing the consequences his body gave him from sleeping, but he didn't want to worry either Neji nor Kankurou.

"I'm fine." he said, forcing a small smile.

Kankurou glanced at him suspiciously before standing up. "Alright then. Are we walking?"

Neji blinked in surprise. "No, it's way too far. Unless you have a car, we'll be taking a TARTA bus."

Gaara paled. TARTA buses were internationally known, so he knew of those from Sunaga. He could get very claustrophobic on those.

"Well...I don't know if TARTA is the best way to go..." Kankurou trailed off, again glancing at the redhead.

Neji gave him a questioning glance.

"Gaara tends to get very claustrophobic on TARTA's..."

Neji's face fell. "Oh...well, I suppose-"

Gaara interrupted him. "I'll be fine. It's early, so hardly anyone will be on."

They began walking again. Gaara trailed behind, pale hands clenched into fists at his sides. He hated having people have to adjust their lives to him. He really was nothing more than a burden...their father was right...

"Gaara?"

His head snapped up.

"Are you sure you're okay? Come on, try to catch up." Kankurou said, worried.

He nodded, and then jogged (as much as his leg would allow it) up to where Neji and Kankurou were walking before falling into pace with them.

* * *

They soon reached a TARTA bus sign, but it didn't have a bench, so they stood. Fifteen minutes later, approximately, the bus came down the corner. Kankurou dug two dollar bills he had from his pocket and handed Gaara one. Neji had his own bus card, so he just scanned that into the scanner while Gaara and Kankurou fought to get their crumpled bills into the box. 

Finally, the bus driver, fed up with their time usage viciously snatched the bills from the hands of the two teenagers.

This did not have a very pleasant effect on Gaara, who automatically flinched and half put his arms up to defend himself from what he thought was another blow.

Kankurou glared at the driver, then pulled Gaara into the main part of the bus.

Which they now noticed, was very, very full of Jr. Highschool children. Some of them were already standing.

Neji stood towards the back of the bus, which was required, in a crowd of giggling girls among others.

"LIKE, OMIGOD, LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!" One of the proclaimed, pointing at Gaara. Her posse made cooing noises at the redhead.

Kankurou sweatdropped, half jealous.

"Jesus Christ, Gaara! They really think you're cute!" he said, in an almost joking manor.

Gaara blushed and looked down at his feet, mumbling something akin to a protest. All of a sudden, the bus lurched, sending Gaara, who was too short to grab the bar, flying in Neji.

Blushing, Neji held the small boy close for a moment, until the bus got back onto smooth pavement, when he realized he still held him.

"Th-thanks…" the redhead managed to stammer, pushing himself up to barely grasp the bar. The whole time, he couldn't help but think that he really hadn't minded being held. He hadn't minded being held yesterday, either. It was so odd. He didn't quite comprehend it himself at the moment.

He didn't have much more time for thinking, as the bus stopped in front of a large, orange building and all the students got off. Neji grabbed a seat and motioned for him to do the same. The entire time, he was waving his arms wildly, explaining all the gossip. They waited for him to finish, not understanding a word.

When he was, Kankurou grinned.

"You like riding this bus in the morning, don't you?"

Neji smiled. "Yeah, I guess I do. It's quite entertaining."

A/N: HA! AFTER THE LONG AWAITEDNESS, I HAVE COMPLETED THIS! This is actually before I expected to, because my dad is home all this weekend, and so I've been afraid to type. So...yeah. I was expecting to finish on Monday morning. GO ME! I BEAT MY DEADLINE!

**

* * *

Reviews of doom: **

**spork ai -** Yeah...it does kind of seem like something out of a rape story...but it's not. I just went REALLY morbid there. So yeah, he wasn't raped. As for death, you reviewers get to do that. You'll see. I had fun with Tsunade; it amused me. I felt like being really humorous with the entire Temari being really mad at Neji thing. I'm sure none of us would mind it to be true...

**Dragon Man 180 -** :sigh: If only it was that simple. Do not worry; you shall get to kill him later. And it shall be quite amusing. Bwahaha...

**Sabaku-no-Gaara-sand-nin -** ...Your sister didn't SEEM evil...maybe that's just me. Whoa. You liked the story so much you were almost late to school because of it! I feel special...

**Hkokuryuha -** I'm glad you like it! I updateeeedd! Not very quickly though...

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut -** OMIGOD. I LOVE YOUR STORY. I'm sorry, I had to say that. I love it A LOT. Anyways, Temari calling Neji a sex offender was quite amusing. I liked it, everyone else liked it...

**Hurricane-rider -** What can I say, I luff torturing j00. :sadistic grin: But! This one's longer! REJOICE!

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black -** Yeah...they'd really freak out. As I'm writing this, I'm being really skittish as to where my father is so he can't see me...Curse you family computer...Thankies for the compliment about my age. It's quite amusing, online, people don't think I'm 12. They're like 'No. Way.'. It's so funny.

**someone -** OMIGOD. YOU REIVEWED. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! Good job Kankurou, good job...

**spirit element -** Yes, yes. I'm not a younger sibling, but family is good! Don't worry, you as a reviewer will kill him...

**Chronic fever-** GO PERVERSION! Dude, KankyGaa rocks my socks. I love that pairing so much...I like odd pairings. But a love triangle? Nah, not for this story!

**Kurisuteru-chan -** I know...it's so sad...SO WHY DO I WRITE IT? UWAAAHH! I don't KNOW! But it makes me sob too...I hope this is soon n.n;;

**Taaa DA! Now, click the pretty button or die.**

Also...Please don't pressure me too much for fast updates...because I had a small case of writer's block, and with my family issues right now, it's quite difficult. So...yeah...thank you! Bai bais!


	8. Mall Trip

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Thy chapeth begineth! o.o

Disclaimer: Thy Naruto series belongeth to thy awesome Kishimoto Masashi-sama.

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

The rest of the bus ride to the mall was uneventful. Gaara spent most of the time lost deep in thought, and Kankurou and Neji were making friendly small talk. 

The redhead inwardly sighed again. Neji...he didn't know what he thought of Neji. Something about him was just...different...When he was around, things seemed like they were going to be okay.

Their first meeting had kind of left him with the impression that Neji was kind of a snobby punk. Of course, after their meetings the next day, he couldn't really keep that opinion.

He frowned. That's what had him confused. Why hadn't he freaked out? He felt just...well, normal. As if Kankurou were doing it or something. He always trusted Kankurou. Ever since the incident when he was 12, he had never liked any form of physical contact, save from his siblings.

So why was Neji an exception? Maybe he had just been so out of it, or so embarrassed, that he only had time to become flustered, and not think about what Neji could have possibly done to him.

And now that he thought about it, he hadn't really minded Neji carrying him at all. Had he finally recovered?

No, he couldn't have. When that gecko girl touched him, he freaked out. So, that just led back to the previous question: Why was Neji and exception?

He didn't know. Maybe...

He paled, but it wasn't very noticeable. Even having gone through puberty, he had yet to truly determine his sexuality. Was that what it was? Did he have a CRUSH on NEJI?

Surprisingly, he managed to control the blush that threatened to spread across his face (I don't think you can control blushing, but Gaara's special...IF HAKU CAN HAVE X-RAY VISION IN VINDICATED, GAARA CAN CONTROL BLUSHING!) Neji would be his first crush. Because of home life, he had always been so afraid to get close to people.

And of course, the few times he did make friends, look what happened. Almost raped by one, and the rest just thought he was a freak as soon as they walked into their house.

Their house in Sunaga hadn't been very...discreet to the happenings of it. Blood stained the walls in some places, and the house had always been littered with bottles of alcohol. They'd walk in, glance around, suddenly pale and make up an excuse or flat out tell him he was a freak.

...He bet Neji wouldn't call him a freak.

His eyes widened, but he didn't think Kankurou or Neji, both too engrossed in their small talk noticed. He really DID have a crush on this boy!

Oh well...its not like it'd ever amount to anything. Their father was very close-minded. Homosexuality would be considered a ''stake'.

He sighed. Everything he did was considered a ''stake'. After all, he killed Mom...

The same pangs of guilt that had plagued him last night shot through him. What had Kankurou's words been?

'_"NO! Never! Don't you EVER think like that, Gaara! EVER." He said firmly.'_

Those words gave him a bit of reassurance, but he just didn't know anymore. He was being pulled in so many different directions...at school he was this shy little kid who didn't like being called on, around their father he was some stuttering moron who didn't deserve to live, and around Kankurou, Temari, and now Neji, he was...well, as close to normal was he would ever get.

A grim smile spread through him inwardly. He never had deserved to live. Having this demon within him was the only way he would've survived.

He didn't remember, but according to Kankurou, who must have had a very good memory as a two-year-old, he'd been born feverish and premature, and his chances of living had been very slim.

But their mother had wanted her third baby to live. The only solution was to use arts back from the feudal times to seal a sand incarnation within him. It had been said that being possessed by this creature would give you eternal protection.

But the description never mentioned the insomnia. Or the voices. Or the bloodlust.

His mother had loved him anyway. He had a feeling his father had hated him from birth. Hated how much affection he was showered with. Her being there was the only restraint from beating him, and possibly his siblings.

If he had ever hated Temari and Kankurou, it ended as soon as their mother had died. All his hatred had just been directed to him.

He still had the scars, the unfading scars, from his first beating at the tender age of three years old. All over his back and legs and arms, and even a few on his neck, where he had been sliced or stabbed with kitchen knives, thrown into glass which shattered, upon many other things.

After that first episode was when he stopped trusting anyone. For a while, he had even avoided Kankurou and Temari to the best of his three-year-old ability. He remembered when that had changed.

**

* * *

FLASHBACK **

Four-year-old Gaara sniffled and once more tried to drag himself up the looming staircase before him. He just couldn't do it. Didn't have the energy.

Losing his footing, he tripped again, falling forward and rolling down the staircase. He didn't cry, it just added with the rest of the shooting pain in his tiny body.

He was determined to get up those steps. He couldn't stay in the living room. No...Daddy was in the living room.

Getting a grip on the carpeting that covered the stairs, he pulled himself up a few. He repeated this until he was at the top step, where the carpeting had been torn off.

A tiny hand felt around the smooth surface. He couldn't grip onto anything. Tears that threatened to fall earlier, but had been forbidden now streamed down his face.

Curling into a ball on that step, he cried. He tried to be quiet about it; waking up Daddy was bad.

He heard footsteps, and he curled tighter into his ball. Maybe, if he curled tight enough, no one could hurt him. No more hurting...It sounded nice. He heard someone crouch on the squeaky step.

"Gaara?" Kankurou whispered, worry crossing his six-year-old features.

The small redhead whimpered and dug himself further into his ball. Kankurou sighed, and easily scooped his brother up into his arms. He was smaller than the average four year old by a long shot, so Kankurou could easily pick him up like he would a smaller toddler. (No, hes not the same size as a two year old...maybe the same size as a three year old...)

He pulled him into his room before setting him on the bed. Gaara uncurled himself and instead opted to sit with his tiny hands folded in his lap and his legs dangling off the side of the bed.

Kankurou surveyed how bad he had been beaten this time. Noting that there was blood that was soaking through his pants, he left the room and quickly returned with a lot of band-aids and a wet washcloth. He pulled the pant leg up to his knee. There was a big cut on his thin calf.

A light bulb went off in the brunette's head. When Mommy was here, he once got a really big cut from climbing on one of the rocks by their house, and she used the roll of band-aid-cloth. (Bandages. Come on now, he's SIX.) Grabbing a stool, he went back to the bathroom and grabbed the roll of bandages.

He took a glance at his sniffling little brother. "Gaara...its gonna be okay, awright?" he whispered, trying to comfort him.

The redhead looked up. Solid green eyes, forever framed by dark rings stared at him in confusion.

"But...but how?" He said, his voice so soft Kankurou hardly detected it.

Kankurou smiled and wrapped his arms around the boy in front of him. He let his chin rest on top of the boy's head. "It just will. You'll see. One day, everything's just gonna end with Daddy, and new stuff will be even better." He smiled again and looked into the green orbs again.

Tears were falling, but he had a small smile on his face. That made Kankurou happy; he hadn't seen the toddler smile in a long time.

When he was done bandaging his leg, he noticed the blood soaking through his shirt.

"Gaara...can I take that off so I can band-aid-cloth that?"

Gaara fidgeted for a moment, then nodded and pulled the white t-shirt over his head. Kankurou stared. There was a large gash on his chest and it looked like a lot of blood. He swallowed hard and summoned his courage before wiping the excess blood from the cut, and then messily bandaged it.

"Is there anywhere else?"

Gaara went silent for a moment. After a while, he looked up again, and the look of despair in his eyes tore Kankurou apart.

"It...hurts everywhere...but especially here..." he whispered, clutching at his chest.

"T-the cut?" he whispered, appalled by his brother's words.

Gaara shook his head. "No...it's wike...inside..." he said, tears falling once more.

Kankurou felt his own tear ducts begin to well up, and he climbed up on the bed. Sitting in front of his brother for a few moments, he let his own tears start to fall. He collected himself, and pulled the smaller boy in front of him into a caring embrace, rubbing his back and running his hands through his hair.

The toddler collapsed and lost it, sobbing all out into his brother's chest. Forty-five minutes later, when Temari came in, Gaara was asleep in the larger boys arms, catching a rare night of rest.

"What happened?" she asked in a hushed tone; even at seven years old, she knew how good it was that Gaara was sleeping.

"Daddy hurt him again, so I band-aid-clothed him back up." he said. "You know...I don't like Daddy anymore. I think I hate him." the six year old scowled.

Temari smiled sadly. "I hate him too, Kanky...I hate him too..."

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

"Gaara?" 

Gaara snapped out of his thoughtful state. Kankurou was looking at him with a look of concern on his face.

"H-huh?"

"We're here. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

All three boys walked off the bus. Gaara thought about what Kankurou had said all those years ago.

_"It just will. You'll see. One day, everything's just gonna end with Daddy, and new stuff will be even better."_

Ten years had passed since that day. After a while, Gaara had lost faith in them. But now, with the meeting of Neji, maybe there was truth in those comforting words.

* * *

A/N: And this is the end. 

Reviewers: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT? HELL NO IT AIN'T!

:sweatdrop: You're right, you're right. I just couldn't HELP myself there! It was such a good 'ending place' that I had to put an author's note there!

* * *

They stopped in front of the large building known as the mall. 

"Whoa…" This huge structure must have been twice the size of Sunaga's mall. On the top sat a glass dome, where you could probably see inside the main part of the mall from an aerial view. There looked like there must have been a billion stores in there.

Kankurou grinned. "Perfect. First, we'll try Hot Topic, and then we can go off to somewhere else. First thing first, Gaara!"

Gaara groaned. Why couldn't they do the clothes shopping later? He hated it when Kankurou spent his money (which actually, Gaara thought, was probably his father's, as Kankurou didn't have a job…) on him because he hadn't been smart enough to do something. Like pack clothing.

As if reading his mind, Kankurou gave him a reassuring smile. "It ain't my money; it's Dad's. Don't worry about it."

Neji laughed. These two were really quite the comical pair when they were together. He wondered how things were when they added the sister into the mix. Outwardly, they seemed like a happy enough family, but he didn't know that for sure, and Neji wasn't one who was quick to judge. Especially not by outward appearance alone.

Once Gaara and Kankurou were finally done gawking at the mall's size, Neji led them through automatic doors that led down a hallway leading towards the main part of the mall with all the maps and such. There were a few stores down this hall, but never ones that Neji had gone to.

"Whoa…dude, your mall is even awesomer now! Hot Topic is right up front!"

Neji turned back, confused. Kankurou was standing in front of what seriously looked like the entrance to Hell. Oh yeah. That store. It kind of scared him. But hey, Kankurou said Gaara was getting clothes from here, and he was the brother, so he'd just follow along.

While Gaara and Kankurou walked into the gated entryway casually, Neji couldn't help but give random small side glances to make sure the Grim Reaper wasn't gonna come out and kill him.

"Hi! Welcome to Hot Topic! May I help you?"

Neji jumped a foot in the air. In front of them stood a tallish woman wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with the store's logo on it. Her nametag read 'Jessi', and at the bottom of the plastic were many small silver rings (almost like the earrings his cousin wore) stuck through it. She had a nose piercing, and her ears didn't really have any 'ear' left; it looked like it was all jewelry.

Neji's logic: Freaky girl is equivalent to….GRIM REAPER!

Kankurou smiled politely. "Yeah, actually. I'm looking for clothes for him." he jabbed a finger in Gaara's general direction. "He is…uhh…very on the small side, so I wasn't sure if I'd find any pants with a small enough waistband browsing."

The girl nodded. "Okay, he can come with me, I'll take his waist size, and then I'll let you guys look through some pants that I'd have available in his size.

Kankurou nodded in comprehension. He wasn't sure about Konoha, but back in Sunaga, all the people he knew who shopped from here either had bad home life, were anorexic or bulimic, cut themselves, had attempted suicide, stuff like that; all tending to keep them on the 'very small' side. AKA horribly underweight.

"Alright, please follow me." She said cheerfully, walking away.

"Go, Gaara." Kankurou said. Gaara stopped from where he was browsing the t-shirts and turned to follow her off.

"Kankurou…do you shop here often?"

"Yeah, all the time. Favorite place to shop."

"…Do you realize the prices?"

"I never said I shopped with MY money." The painted boy said, walking over to pick up a pair of fishnet sleeves for his brother since he liked his so much. Shirts would be no problem, unless he wanted a fishnet shirt, which in that case he'd need to go with Jessi again, since those were generally skin-tight.

About ten minutes later (Neji kept track of time, since he was so nervous in the store, not that he let it show) Gaara and Jessi returned with pants slung over their arms. There were about five pairs, which Neji guessed was adequate for Kankurou.

"Thank you, Jessi. We should be okay as far as shirts are concerned."

"Alright! Well, I'll be over by the cash register if I'm needed again!"

Neji blinked. The Grim Reaper seemed nice enough. Maybe this store wasn't so bad…

Fifteen minutes later, the three boys walked out, Kankurou (looking very harassed) carrying all of Gaara's three bags.

"Hey…are you two hungry? I didn't really have breakfast…" Neji gave a sheepish smile, one hand pressed against his rumbling stomach.

Kankurou and Gaara exchanged glances. Temari had made them breakfast this morning, but they were hungry again already, so what ever. Kankurou wanted to see what the food court was like. Gaara wanted to go to the arcade. They were close. Siblings – 2. Neji – Not participating.

Gaara glanced up at a clock they passed on their way to the food court, which was in the very central of the mall. It read 11:30 AM. Wow. It seemed like just a few minutes ago had been 8:30, on that crowded bus with all those Jr. High kids. He really hoped he didn't have to ever ride with them again.

Once at the court, Kankurou stared in awe. There must have been over twenty areas to get food at. And all of them looked appetizing. After spending about ten minutes dashing to each one and glancing at the menu, he finally ordered a sushi platter and some soda and sat down. Gaara had just gotten a medium fries at one of the fast food joints he had looked at, and a caramel frappuccino. Gaara went to the same place as Neji (or vice versa), it seemed, as Neji had gotten a large fries and a large double cheeseburger. (That thought ALMOST makes me miss meat……………..Almost. Only because I haven't eaten in…4 meals.)

They spent almost a half hour there just eating and talking, and then Gaara wanted to go to the arcade.

Mind you, in Sunaga, the Sabaku family lived quite close to the mall. Their mall had the arcade near the entrance. Said mall also happened to be open 24-7. What do you think our resident insomnia did in the time he had money and wasn't being disturbed?

Think about this for a second. A game that gets your adrenaline pumping…you just need to beat it…need to get that perfect score…that AAA…the game that kept even the sleepiest person awake, despite it's immense movement…

DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION!

And our redhead was thrilled to see one in the Konoha arcade, and even more enthusiastic to find it wasn't in use at the moment. He wasn't even going to let his limp hinder him.

Kankurou sighed and handed him a ten-dollar bill, knowing just how long his brother could go at that game, regardless of any 'handicaps'.

Neji watched with awe at how gracefully the boy moved. Even without looking at the screen, he knew he was in perfect rhythm with the song that was playing. It appeared to be one of his favorites.

'_She knows the voices in her head. They tell her…to leave. She's tired smiling madly until silence becomes (very silently) a noise in her mind. After all, she's got nothing inside. No good to give; no meaning to live. The misting engulfed tonight every single star…'_

_(Delirium – After all)_

Neji didn't catch the rest of the lyrics; he was too busy watching the redheads feet move to the techno beat. When the song finished, a crowd in the back that had gathered without them knowing cheered wildly.

Gaara hadn't noticed them either, and jumped, startled. He turned in amazement. This would've never happened in Sunaga. The most attention he'd get was to be shoved off the metal platform and told not to show off anymore.

He hardly had time to revel in this new feeling before suddenly, the world tilted and lurched. He vaguely felt himself fall forward, and a sharp pain in the back of his head that had been less than a dull throb this morning made itself known.

It took him a minute to realize his impact to the ground hadn't come. Looking up, he saw a blurry image of a longhaired boy with a concerned expression before everything went dark.

* * *

"G-gaara!" Kankurou cried, rushing through the crowd that for the last five minutes or so blocked him off. Neji had situated him so that he was carrying the boy the same way he had yesterday. Gaara was completely limp and slipping in and out of consciousness. 

"Did he dehydrate himself while playing that game?" Neji suggested as they walked as quickly as possible out of the arcade.

"I-I don't know! I should've made him stay home…" the older boy bit his lip, then placed the back of his hand on his brother's forehead. "Yeah…it went up. I can't tell to what though…" he bit his lip again.

"Do you think we should go home?" Neji asked, glancing down at the redhead in his arms.

"Mm…no. The bus might be crowded; I don't want to put any of us through that. He might get claustrophobic in his sleep; I don't know."

Neji nodded, understanding, then made a turn to the restroom areas. "We can keep him in the boy's bathroom until he wakes up, and then we'll leave for home."

Kankurou nodded, and held the door for the both of them.

* * *

In the bathroom, they just sat on the floor, Neji keeping Gaara held in his lap. Silence had passed between the two for a while. 

"Kankurou?"

"...Yeah?"

"Um…do you think…he'd get freaked out if he woke up and I was holding him…?"

Kankurou considered this. Yes, he might. Yes, that might make Neji suspicious. "I think he might, actually…Sorry, Neji." The painted boy apologized; he felt bad that he'd blatantly told him that.

Neji nodded in acceptance and gently passed the sleeping boy over. Kankurou hadn't held him in a while; he felt too light. Far too light and he could feel the back of his ribs and spine very clearly. Too clearly.

It was about a half of an hour before Gaara ended up waking up. Kankurou realized that the boy must've now been extremely drained; he'd been catching sleep often lately. As good as that was, the effect it had on him was quite excruciating.

"Mm…Kank'rou?"

Kankurou smiled at the slurred, sleepy speech. "Yeah?"

"…Where are we?"

"…In the boy's bathroom. In the mall."

"…………"

Neji laughed at the expression on his face. It was a cross between 'WHOA! DUDE!' and 'Suuuure…quit pulling my leg…'.

"Do you think you can stand?" the sophomore asked worriedly.

Only Kankurou noticed the tense in the boy's body at the tone of worry. He knew Gaara hated feeling like a burden. He knew Gaara thought he was always a burden. One of his hands clenched into fists. He had that man to thank for that.

"Yeah." Gaara finally replied, pushing himself off his brother and holding onto the wall for support. When he dropped his hand, he stood fine.

"…Alright…" Neji said, not entirely convinced. "Well, I guess we should get going. It's almost 2o'clock!"

Gaara blinked. That much time had passed? That fast? Usually, time was against him and every minute seemed to be antagonizing him with it's slow pace, seeming to slow with each one passed.

They made their way to the main doors without too much trouble, as the high school hadn't let out yet or the Jr. high for that matter. The bus stop was also just about empty, and Kankurou dug up two more dollar bills, making sure they were straightened this time so the bus driver wouldn't lose his temper with them again.

The bus came down the corner. Walking on, Kankurou and Gaara easily put their bills into the bill acceptor and sat with Neji in the way back of the bus. Only a few people were on right now; they had gotten lucky.

After they got on, the bus driver put up the 'Out of Service' sign. Gaara didn't understand why; they were on it. Didn't that count? They only realized why when he turned into the driveway of the school from before. His eyes widened.

If those girls were like that at 8:30 AM, what were they like at the end of the school day? At least he had a seat this time…

At exactly 2:25, a rush of students came bursting out of the main doors. Among them were the preppy flirty girls. If you haven't guessed by now, Gaara isn't the luckiest banana in the bunch.

Three of the girls got on the bus, giggling loudly, and went to the back.

One stared at him. "Lyke, Omigod. The cutey goes here!" she squealed.

"They look like high school students to me." Another said.

"So? A lot of people at this place do."

"True. Speaking of high school, isn't this bus picking up some today?"

Gaara tuned out the rest of the conversation, staring at his feet. He was trying his hardest not to pass out, but as the bus grew more crowded, the harder it seemed. High school students, huh? A lot more students. Great.

**

* * *

Temari – Physical Education **

Temari kicked the black and white soccer ball into the 'goal' place, which was actually just a taped off area of the wall. Glancing up at the clock, she saw they had five minutes left before the bell rang. She put away her ball and waiting for the double whistle so she could go change back into her normal clothing.

She once more thought back on how her brother's were doing. I mean, with their father not home, it'd probably be better, but she couldn't help but worry if they'd eaten enough, if they'd gone somewhere…

She sighed. She made them breakfast, because she knew especially Gaara wouldn't eat unless she had. Kankurou had eaten it, and she was pretty sure Kankurou had Gaara eat it too. He wouldn't have not; it was his favorite breakfast! Chocolate chip muffins with banana slices in them, with blueberry yogurt that had strawberries mixed in.

So what if her brother had an odd palette? She was happy he was EATING. Him being so underweight really scared her.

She hoped Kankurou knew that too. She loved her brother to pieces, but he sometimes wasn't very practical. If he didn't, he'd probably figure it out eventually. She felt too flustered to tell him outright.

Just as she grabbed her stuff and relocked her locker, the bell rang.

* * *

Roughly, the bus pulled into another driveway, this time to a not-so-obnoxiously colored school. Students began rushing out, and a few people ended up on this bus. 

"Temari!" Kankurou exclaimed.

Gaara looked up. Sure enough, there was his sister.

The spiky-blonde tilted her head to the back.

"Kankurou? Gaara? Sex-offender? I thought you three were suspended!"

"We were! But we went to the mall, and we were going home when it picked up these people." He gestured to the Jr. High students around them. "And you guys." He said.

Temari managed to wade over to the back.

"Um…Sibling-san? My name isn't sex-offender…it's Neji…"

"Well, when you stop calling me 'sibling', I'll stop calling you 'sex-offender'."

"…When you stop calling me 'sex-offender', I'll stop calling you 'sibling.'"

Gaara laughed nervously. He didn't think Neji knew the extent of Temari's insanity. Especially during THAT time of month…

But, the blonde only glared harshly at our long-haired friend and opted for asking how their day went.

"Uh…we went to the mall." Kankurou said quickly.

"And? What happened!"

"We got Gaara clothes and he played DDR for a while."

"Did you eat anything?"

"Yup."

"Good. What's today?"

"…Wednesday…"

"AWESOME!"

"WHY!"

"You'll see! If you don't remember!" she said cheerfully.

YARGH! THAT'S A TOTAL OF FIFTEEN PAGES OF PURE CHAPTER! BE HAPPY!

**

* * *

Review corner, this one loves doing this… **

**Kanky-chan -** …You're only SLIGHTLY slow, my dear cousin…Sam actually keeps doing that goddamned 'cherries' thing right now. I don't know why; but it's definitely still the most amusing thing on the planet. I will write more! I considered when I needed to have this story finished and I've come to the conclusion that it needs to be before you come in the summer. I'm not getting ANYTHING done if you're here. We both know that.

**Kurisutaru-chan –** Yes, the TARTA bus stuff was very unneeded. Half way through that, writer's block struck me again, so that just came to mind. Chapter seven didn't turn out very well, in my opinion. Gaara is supposed to be OOC around Kanky. He DOES need a break…:sniff: so I kind of gave him one! I mean, one night his ankle gets broken, the next he gets beaten on his mother's death anniversary, he needed a break. And Kanky was there to help him be 'normal' for a bit.

**tiggra –** Yes, Gaara has split personalities depending on who he's with, as explained in this chapter. It amused me to write him screaming around the house.

**Burning tree –** You are definitely right to call it that, too. It was VERY rushed, because it was going on a week, and I still hadn't posted that, so I freaked out. On top of that I had writer's block for that chapter, but I think it's all better. The kazekage shall burn…you'll see…

**Dragon Man 180 –** Don't worry! The kazebastard WILL die!

**Sabaku-no-Gaara-sand-nin -** …Oh. Okiidays, I'll take your word for it.

**spirit element –** Yay! I did again, too! Like…three days before my deadline! See, I could walk, but it'd take like an hour and a half, so I just bus. I never piss off the bus driver n.n GAARA KEYCHAIN! LYKE, OMG. I NEED ONE! BADLY! GAARA OBSESSION! REIIIIGNIIIIING! GHAAA!

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black -** :nod: The bus ride was supposed to be weird. It was also supposed to waste space.

**spork ai –** Yes, GO KANKYGAA! I swear, that and DosuZaku are the two most underrated yaoi pairings EVER. The busride people were preppy and scary.

**Chronic-fever –** Ooo…mercury tipped fingers…Yes, Gaara is VERY squishable. …I need a Gaara plushy. Very badly. Perversion IS very delicious! And no, no KankyGaa. Sowwy. I have an idea for another story that my cousin's badgering me to type out that's KankyGaa! Maybe after LaF is done.

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut –** You were s'posed to be confuzzled! See, when I'm not pressured, look! I got it out four days ahead of schedule! And YES I LOVE YOUR STORY! Gawd, that story is awesome!

**Hurricane-rider –** Oh, you know how much I luff torturing you. Having chapters only weekly 'n such. Here's the pretty mall trip for ya. I had fun writing this!


	9. A Little More Hopeful

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Whoo! Those long chapters didn't take that long to write (Four days!) So, I'll make more!

Disclaimer: Don' own it, never will.

* * *

Chapter Nine

* * *

"So…Temari, what's so exciting?" Kankurou inquired of the blonde as she twirled into the doorway of their house. 

"It's Wednesday! WEDNESDAY!" She laughed aloud, flopping down on the couch.

"…What about Wednesday?" Gaara asked quietly.

"EVEN YOU DON'T KNOW? Wednesday is when Dad is ALWAYS out drinking 'till midway through Thursday! We don't have to worry about him until tomorrow! I'm so happy! It's such a weight off my chest. You two didn't remember it?" She asked, pausing in her glee to blink at her younger brothers.

"…I remember there was a day when nothing happened…" Gaara said after a long while. "Once a week…yeah…I never bothered keeping track of it." he shrugged and walked up to his room.

"So…is there anything you wanted to do?" Kankurou gave her a quizzical look. There must have been something else going on, or she wouldn't be freaking out this much.

"WELL! Every Wednesday, there's this thing that goes on after school. Like a pep rally 'n stuff!" She squealed, sounding very delighted.

Kankurou stared. She'd gotten lucky. Their father had never permitted them to do any after school stuff, unless they were on a Wednesday, because he didn't know about it then.

"So…you'll start that…next week?" he said, painted eyebrow still raised.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'm so happy! You and Gaara should find something you two could do every Wednesday."

"We should. Hm…" he dug around in his pockets for a while before finding a slip of paper that Neji had given him with his number on it. Finding it, he smoothed it out and went to page the portable phone from wherever it was in the house.

* * *

Up in his room, Gaara flipped the switch for his stereo and put in Papa Roach (One of the authoresses new favorites!) He automatically went to his favorite song, which he could now play without fear. 

'_I tear my heart open. I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much. And our scars remind me that the past is real. I tear my heart open just to feel.'_

He would never have been able to play that with his father present. He didn't own a CD player; he never really knew why he owned the stereo. It had used to be Kankurou's.

Suddenly feeling the need for hygiene, he reached into the plastic bags he had brought up with him and pulled out a pair of black pants littered with red string sewed in odd patterns as well as numerous chains crisscrossing all over the place. Reaching into another, he pulled out a black shirt that said 'I'm not racist. I hate everybody equally.' in grey and bright red. Reaching into the third, he pulled out the pair of fishnet sleeves that Kankurou had so graciously bought him and grabbing a few other clothing items, walked into the bathroom.

He didn't know why he felt the need to shower, he just did. Maybe it was to take advantage of their father's absence. And since he knew he wasn't going to be home for a while, no fear plagued him.

He almost felt normal. Kind of like how he had felt around Neji.

Checking the temperature of the water, he stripped and stepped in, reveling in the heat from the water trailing down years of suffering. He closed his eyes. The hot water felt really good against some of the new markings, and made the scars fade a little for the time being.

He would've stood there all evening if Kankurou hadn't come banging on the door five minutes later.

"Neji's coming over!" he called cheerfully.

"Again?" His voice echoed through the steam and water.

"Yeah! Sure! But, I need to take your temp when you get outta there. Your fever went up at the mall." He said apologetically, knowing Gaara's intense hatred of a thermometer.

The redhead sighed. "Fine." He said disdainfully.

"Yeah, that means don't take forever."

"….Oh."

Scowling, he relaxed in the water for a few more minutes before washing his hair and doing a gentle scrub down of his body. As he was stepping out of the shower, he noticed a pink razor that must have belonged to Temari. Curious, he gently plucked the thing from the shower ledge and studied it. It looked sharp and dangerous.

**This is what girls use, boy.**

Gaara scowled at the stupid voice in his head. He placed the blade on his wrist, right over an area where three largish veins could be seen through his pale skin.

The demon laughed at him. Gaara closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and swiped. Opening one insomnia-lined eye, he stared at the sand hovering hardly a millimeter over his wrist, with a deep double-lined imprint in it.

The laughing grew louder.

**You really thought it'd work? Here, I'll humor you.**

A small tendril of sand snaked its way to his right index finger. There was a slight sting, and then a drop of blood grew.

**Amuse yourself with that for a while. Put the razor down; you'll never get to use that.**

Staring in fascination at his bleeding fingertip, he placed the razor down on the ledge again, dried off (being careful to avoid the blood that was now running down his finger) and continued to stare.

He glanced at the shirt. He'd have to wash the blood off before putting it on. Reluctantly, he ran the sink water on cold and placed the bleeding digit under the flow of water.

Once all the blood was washed off, he went to his shirt and slipped it on easily. He was pretty sure they had gotten a small, but it still seemed big on him, coming past his hips.

He slipped on a pair of black boxers and the pants, snapping and zipping something that hadn't been before, and arranging the chains to his tastes. Slipping his arms through the fishnet sleeves, he quickly rubbed his hair dry with a towel and ran a comb through it before walking out.

* * *

Neji hung up with Kankurou, who had told him to just be right over, wrote a note to his uncle, and decided to time how fast he could get over there. Neji was quite an athletic person, even though he decidedly didn't do any sports at school. All the boys who did sports at school were the jocks like Uzumaki Naruto or Uchiha Sasuke. Wasn't his type. 

Turning the corner about thirty seconds after leaving his house, he came to theirs. Pleased, he walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

Kankurou stared, bewildered at the door. It couldn't be Neji. No way in hell was that Neji. He still decided to chance it, even though it was probably one of his father's friends or something…

Cautiously, he opened the white door. His eyes grew to saucers.

"HOLY FIZZLE, NEJI, HOW THE HOLY HELL DID YOU DO THAT!" he exclaimed at the hardly-out-of-breath figure on his porch. The boy just shrugged and sheepishly put a hand behind his head.

Gaara chose that time to come down the stairs, an inquiring look on his face directed towards his older brother. "Hi Neji." He told the person in the doorway. "What were you screaming about?"

"Uh…nothing." Kankurou said, wondering if Neji had skillz. Gaara just shrugged it off. "So…what're we gonna do today?" he asked.

Neji blinked. "We didn't have anything planned yet?"

"Uh…nope!"

"We could…hang out, walk around, probably wouldn't be best to go to the mall again…" he listed many other suggestions before shrugging.

"I like the 'hang out' one." Gaara said quietly.

"Alright! Sure. There's hardly anything to do here; unlike what most people think, Gaara is an arcade bum and doesn't own DDR, but if he did, man, even I play that game!" he said proudly.

"…Yeah, on LIGHT." Gaara laughed.

Neji was completely lost (and so are half of you, so I'll explain it at the end of the chapter).

"Um…speaking of, Gaara, how IS your fever." Neji asked, hoping Kankurou didn't invite him over knowing Gaara was sick.

"What fever?" Temari insisted, but was ignored.

"I feel fine. Don't come near me with that thing, I'm liable to bite." He warned at Kankurou, who held the thermometer.

Kankurou considered this. "It'd be high anyways. Neji, you don't know hot showers until you know how hot Gaara takes them. Even in the friggen DESERT."

Neji laughed at Gaara attempting to explain himself to his brother, which involved a lot of arm waving and stammering.

"…Gaara, are you bleeding?" Temari asked from her spot on the couch.

'Crap!' Gaara thought, looking at his finger. Sure enough, the small drop of blood had come back and was enlarging itself. He sunk into the couch, mesmerized once more by the flowing liquid, not caring who or what was watching.

Kankurou's brow furrowed. "C'mon, let's go wrap it up…" he pulled the boy from the couch and upstairs to the bathroom.

'That was…odd…' Neji thought. 'To be so mesmerized with blood…huh.' He shrugged that off too. Maybe Gaara was afraid of it, and was in shock. He didn't know!

* * *

Upstairs, Kankurou gently held the bleeding digit. "H-how..?" was the only thing he could manage. 

Biting his lip, Gaara thought of how to explain this. "W-well…I…" he sighed. He'd just have to explain it from the start. "I…saw Temari's razor on the shelf thingie…and I got curious…but the sand stopped it."

"GOOD!"

"…And then the demon was talking to me…and he did this to 'amuse me'."

Kankurou sighed, biting his lip. "And…are you amused?"

The redhead looked down, afraid to meet his brother's eyes. "…Kinda…"

Kankurou sighed and embraced the smaller boy. "Gaara…I know you want to…and that's the only reason I'm grateful for that damned demon. I know appealing it seems, but it doesn't help."

Gaara stared, fighting tears. He'd disappointed Kankurou, he knew it.

The older boy sighed again. "I know because…because I tried it. Sure, it helped for a while, but after I'd been doing it for about three months, it stopped helping. You still got hurt, Temari still cried, and that bastard was still here. And…all I was doing was hurting myself. It…wasn't solving anything." He rolled up his sweatshirt sleeve to show him. "They've faded, so it'd kind of hard, but Gaara, please trust me on this, it won't help as much as you think."

The redhead sniffled, nodding. He didn't wanna cry; Neji was downstairs. He didn't wanna worry Neji; that'd make him a burden. He wasn't supposed to hold it in, but he was going to.

Kankurou rubbed his back, knowing that he was trying not to cry. He almost winced as he could feel all the little bones in his back far too clearly. There had to be something they could do to help him put on weight. Their father was convinced the boy 'ate too much'.

Pfft. According to Temari, Gaara was over ten pounds underweight. Releasing the redhead, he gave him a smile and ruffled his hair. Taking out a band-aid, he quickly bandaged the finger and led him downstairs with a promise to not tell Temari.

* * *

Neji took a curious glance at Gaara's finger as the two siblings came downstairs. Only a band-aid..? Not that it had been that bad, but the two brothers were up there for a while…only for a band-aid? He wondered what was really going on, but it wasn't any of his business, so he didn't pry. 

"So…uhh…what should we do?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

The other three occupants shrugged. Neji inwardly sighed. "Um…okay…" he thought of something to say. "Where did you guys come from?"

"Sunaga, it's in the desert."

"Oh."

More silence passed until Neji proclaimed that his uncle wanted him home for dinner and he'd have to leave. All three thanked him for coming over, and Kankurou apologized for the uneventfulness, and told him that even with that, he was welcome any Wednesday.

"Why Wednesday?"

The junior shrugged. "It's a good day." He said.

"..Okay."

As he was walking home, he realized that he had never seen their parents. He wondered why. Well, maybe he shouldn't. He'd only been there once, but they didn't even mention their parental figures.

Well, granted, they didn't really talk. He wondered why Gaara's finger was such a big deal. Anybody could cut it. Maybe he had been afraid of the blood. Now that he thought about it, the smaller boy had come down looking like he either had cried or wanted to, but he didn't mention it.

Turning back into his driveway, he reentered the house. Glancing at his cousin, Hinata and her sister, Hanabi, he went upstairs to his room to continue to think about that.

He hadn't looked afraid, he had looked immersed. That kind of scared him, but everyone was different. His cousin downstairs, Hanabi, who was nine was a junior cheerleader at her elementary school but hated the 'preps'.

He snorted. The girl hardly knew the stereotypes. Either way, it was just an example to show how odd some people were, so he wasn't going to rat on his cousin for it.

It still bugged him, but he didn't want to lose sleep over it, even though through the day, he had made up his mind. He had a crush on Gaara.

* * *

"…That could have gone better." Temari remarked after Neji left. 

"Yeah, I know. But, we can't help what goes on." Kankurou sighed.

"What was that about?" she asked. Gaara had gone back up to his room, and smiling, the noted he was once again blasting his stereo. That gave the older two the opportunity to talk.

"It was nothing." He said quickly, pulling a jug of milk from the refrigerator and a box of cookies from the cupboards.

"Don't eat those all, Dad'll get mad."

"Dad can go fuck himself."

"Kankurou, you know you're not making things any better if you keep pissing him off."

"Yeah, well I refuse to live in fear of him. I can kick his ass, and I know it. But he has ties. If he beats Gaara, it's perfectly okay, because no one will suspect it. But with us, we were known as social outcasts and tended to be kind of violent to begin with. So if we beat him, we're going to be the ones in trouble. Society's too ignorant to even take note of the fact that Gaara's bruised and scarred. They won't believe it because he has political resources, and we're just his outcast children."

Temari stared at her brother as he finished his speech for a while. Then she sighed. "I know, Kankurou. I know. We can't do anything. But at least we tried."

"All the bastard did was move us to here when we tried! That's all that happened! No watch, no nothing!" he almost yelled, but he didn't in case Gaara was somehow listening.

It was the truth. That was why they had moved. Kankurou and Temari, finally fed up of their home life, built up the courage to report child abuse to the police in Sunaga. All they had done was notify him of being reported, and he automatically figured it out. That had been the first time Kankurou and Temari had ever been hit by him.

**

* * *

FLASHBACK (I didn't wanna do this flashback, but then it's like…fine…) **

"Where are you going?" Temari whispered. It was dead of night, and Kankurou was pulling on a light jacket.

"I can't take this anymore."

"You're running away?"

"No. I'm reporting child abuse to the police. I can't take watching this happen."

"Kankurou! We can't!"

"Temari, I'm not living in fear! We CAN, and I will. Are you coming?"

She sighed, hesitating in her answer.

"You don't have to, if you feel that living in fear is a whole lot better." He said sarcastically. The blonde glared at him.

"I'm going." She said, quickly and quietly running upstairs for her own jacket.

They walked in near silence. Hardly any cars, hardly any pedestrians beside themselves. When they got to the police station, they entered quietly.

Inside, the officers looked like they were having some type of party in the main office. (A/N: I've never been to a police office except in fieldtrips. You can't honestly make me remember fieldtrips! So, please excuse the improvisation and the probable incorrectness.) They were laughing as they were watching Cops on TV.

"Excuse me." Kankurou said bravely. Temari was inching towards the door, ready to leave if they wouldn't accept them.

"Yeah? Whaddya want. Visiting hours are over." The man who answered then realized who they were. "Oh. You two. One of you get into another fight or something?" The crowd roared in laughter.

Kankurou glowered. "No. We're here to report the excessive and severe child abuse that has been happening in our home for ten years." He said firmly, so they would take him seriously.

"Sure, whatever, we'll check into it." the officer said, obviously bored. "Can't assure you what proof we'll find."

"So you don't believe us?" he exclaimed. "We have proof! Just LOOK at our brother! JUST LOOK AT HIM!"

"Kankurou! Stop it! Don't get yourself in trouble!" Temari grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door.

"We'll look into it." The officer repeated, sounding more menacing.

"You better." Kankurou said back, just as menacing.

Temari tugged at his sleeve again and he followed her, sending another death glare that, though he denied it completely, he had inherited from their biological paternal figure. (A/N: RP: WHY DON'T YOU JUST TYPE FATHER? JK: HE AIN'T NO FATHER TO ME!)

"That did NOT go well." She told him on the way back. "I don't think they believed us at all!"

"No. But they said they'd look into it. There's a lot of evidence around the house. Take a glance and you know what goes on. I tried to get the blood off the walls, it won't give."

"Chances are, they won't…"

"Temari, you're the optimist! Help me out here! We need to get out of there, before he DOES kill Gaara!"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" She screamed. The few heads out there turned. "Don't say that…" she said quieter, her voice cracking.

They hadn't gotten any feedback for two whole weeks. Both Temari and Kankurou waited with listing hope, and had almost forgot about it, when one day, after school, their father wanted to talk to them both in a rare moment of him being sober.

"Yeah?" Kankurou said casually, strolling into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets.

"I got a phone call today. From the police. Apparently, you two reported child abuse." He said dangerously.

Temari broke out into a cold sweat. Her hands started shaking, so she too dug them deep into her pockets.

"Do you remember what I told you I'd do if I EVER got word that you were reporting it places?" he continued, his tone unchanging.

"Yeah, I know. Thing is, you can't do that as they drag you away." Kankurou ventured bravely. Temari wanted nothing more then to lash out at him, to tell him to stop or something bad would happen.

"Well, now. I have half a mind to show you, then. I'm not being 'dragged away'. Quite the contrary. They laughed it off, saying it was some adolescence thing. Good thing, hm? Some of the smarter ones wanted to examine your brother. You're goddamn lucky they didn't push it when I refused. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'LL DO!" he suddenly screamed, grabbing a chair and throwing it at his two children. Temari screamed and ducked under the table. Kankurou dodged it, but didn't hide.

Why hide? He'd get them. He always would. Kankurou had given up hope completely now. The police wouldn't believe them.

There was no point.

It really wasn't going to end.

There was no happy ending.

The thought made him wish for the knife that he vowed to never use again. The man in front of him was screaming, but he couldn't hear him. When he hit him, he couldn't feel it.

Because he had given up hope.

Temari screamed and cried out with each blow. This was really breaking her from the inside out. Even if she tried to tell herself that Gaara had it so much worse, she couldn't help but be afraid.

By the time their father was done with them, both children had been beaten black and blue. Temari limped out of the kitchen, sobbing, wishing it would just all disappear. Just all go away, never to return in this household.

Kankurou suppressed his own pain as he walked out, a little ahead of his older sister. Pausing in front of their fathers room, he spat on one of the beer bottles littering the floor and continued.

He was glad their little brother had gotten an hour detention at school for not dressing in gym. He didn't want the redhead knowing about this, because he knew the first thing Gaara would do was blame himself.

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

Kankurou sighed again. He had given up hope. A week and a half later, when the rumor started in one magazine (which ended up being dismissed and denied) was when they had moved to Konoha. All the hope that he had gained over the ten years hatred had reigned the house diminished in about that amount of time. 

But, for some reason, he couldn't help but find hope in Neji. Why Neji, he didn't know.

Things just seemed a little brighter than they used to. A little more hopeful.

* * *

HAAA! Okay, this wasn't AS long as the last chapter, but it was still pretty long if I do say so myself. And I think I updated quite diligently! 

Okay, before I answer reviews, I'm going to clear up the entire thing with DDR. DDR is a game that you can play in the arcade (Duh) and also at home (for those who didn't know that…) There are four or five different levels of difficulty for each song. Difficulty levels are:

Beginner – Very easy, no continuous arrows, always at least one beat in between. The stage to start out on, it follows the basic basic basic points of the song's melody.

Light – Arrows that go in a more continuous pattern (not as many rests and beats in between arrows as beginner) no 'eighth notes' speed arrows or anything faster. Follows the basic pattern of the beat.

Standard – Kind of the moderate/difficult level. There are hardly any beats in between arrows, and many fast notes that are like 'eighth notes' and are referred to as 'speed arrows'. Follows the beat pretty well, but not exactly all the time.

Heavy – Follows the beat almost exactly, no matter if it falls under 'eighth note' or not. Timing for steps is really difficult here, and the best you can do is fall in tune with the song.

Challenge – Only on some songs, is usually at heavy-level, but the song is usually a remix and faster or slower. Usually harder, but not always, than heavy.

…Yeah. You're probably still confused. Oh well.

**Burning Tree –** It would be. I can picture it quite clearly, actually. I LOVE After all. It's on UltraMix2, which we have for the Xbox, and it's AWESOME. Plus, he hears voices, so it all works out. I wanted to do Love 3 Shine, but chances are, that'd be way too happy for him. You gotta remember, his clothing is like…strait outta Hot Topic, so it'd look really weird. Neji the sex-offender is really amusing.

**Hkokuryuha –** Yeah, sorry about the Hot Topic thing. I know it's probably not true, but Gaara's so underweight, he'd have to go in the back for a specially-smaller waist band size, because his waist size would be like…too short in the leg area if he were to get it, if they stocked it. Yeah, he's that small. I had to make that up for the sake of his size. And Sunaga and Konoha are quite stereotypical; more than in America, so yeah. Clothing defines that a lot there.

**Kanky-chan –** It occupied EVERYONE for like…20 minutes. Not just you. I like making Kanky a concerned brother! I can't help it, it fits so well sometimes. ……Fine….you win. …….Jerk. I'm writing, I'm writing…

**spirit element –** THAT'S what's on Wednesday. See? Gaara got the break he needed. Here's the update (which came really fast this time!)

**xxphatxbaybeexx –** We're all quite immature. But it's quite fun. We're not your average middle schooler; I was not making those scenarios up on belief of behavior. That seriously happens. A lot. So what if it's immature? It's quite fun.

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black -** :cringe: Yeah, maybe it was kind of stretched. Hm…you may have to define that for me. I don't get that a lot. Usually it's that my chapters are rushed. As for the humor, you might wanna point those out to, just so I know for future reference. I can't for the life of me place it, but I think I get a half-picture of what you're talking about.

**Hurricane-rider –** Yay! At least it scared SOMEONE. I HAVE BEEN ONLINE! I SWEAAAARR! Wow. Went on a shopping binge, have we? I haven't yet…I need to, soon.

**Dragon Man 180 –** Oh! I wasn't offended. Don't worry about it. Yes, I always think he'd be good at it. Maybe his height'd be restricting. (Mine is…) And there's Shuuki in this chapter! I realize I've left him out a lot… He will! He will! Patience is a virtue!

**Chronic-fever –** I know people that'll kill me if I don't, so keep looking for it! I'm considering starting it and a couple more stories that the plot bunnies are after me about during this, but I don't know if I can handle it just yet…I'm still quite new to this…

**spork ai **Yes, I have finally began the roots of shonen ai! I liked making Neji think random things about it. I used to think the same thing when I was a lot younger and my older cousins used to really go there. It DOES smell good, too! I worship DDR. Very much so. More brotherly moments here, and even a KankyTema sibling moment! I'm on a roll. I plan on doing that AND the DosuZaku. Maybe or maybe not at the same time, or even while I'm doing this, but I'm not sure. SasuNaru doesn't bug me too much, neither does KakaIru, but they both are really overrated… Mental health day? I want one.

**Sabaku-no-Gaara-Sand-nin –** Wow. I'm glad it took people that long. It keeps them occupied. DDR rocks my socks. …Wow, your mall isn't that impressive then. Our city actually has two malls; one really sucks and the other rocks socks. You don't live in the US! That might be it.

**tiggra –** Meh, I've never considered Neji hot before. Just…there. I've only started liking him when I started liking NejiGaa. Here's the pretty chappie!

**Authoress loves reviews!**


	10. Do I smell ShikaTema?

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: WHOO! Tenth chapter! Yes, this is a big thing for me. Continuing onward!

Disclaimer: Don't own it, but if I did, it wouldn't be going on Toonami.

* * *

Chapter Ten

* * *

The next morning, when Temari woke up from school, Kankurou was already downstairs on the couch with the television on. 

"Why are you up so early?" she asked him, glancing at the digital clock of their cable box. "It's only 5:30."

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Dead tired though." To prove his point, he yawned, stretching out his arms.

"Then go back to bed!"

"No friggen' way. If I go to bed, I won't be awake before noon, and I need to be awake before he comes home."

"…You know, there's this thing called an ALARM CLOCK." She said. "I hate how you do this! Declining your health without telling me why!" She folded her arms across her chest and switched her balance to her right foot.

"I told you! I can't sleep!" he cried, trying to be quiet.

"WHY can't you sleep, then?" Tapping her left foot impatiently, she fidgeted again, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because I can't! Why the hell are you so pissy this morning?"

"Because you should be asleep. Or at least RESTING. Kankurou, you're sixteen! You should know how bad staying up all night watching T.V. is for your health! Were you worried Dad would come home early?" She ranted. Kankurou tuned most of this out, save her last question.

"Kind of, I don't know. I just couldn't sleep! God, why can't you just deal with that?"

"I don't want you getting SICK!"

"I'M FINE."

Although most of this was whispered, the two heads still turned when they heard the almost nonexistent squeak of the top stair under Gaara's weight.

"What's going on..?" he said, looking at them both in confusion.

"Kankurou's being stupid and not resting." Temari answered before her brother could.

Kankurou gave a frustrated sigh. "I know why she's mad at me."

"If you say it's because I'm PMSing, I'll kill you." She said dangerously.

"No." He said simply. "You're still mad because of last night."

Gaara was confused. Why were his siblings arguing? What happened last night? Why had Kankurou pulled an all-nighter? The questions plagued him until he shrugged and went into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"…Why are we fighting?" Temari asked, rubbing her temples. "I mean…yeah…why?"

Kankurou let out a deep sigh. "I think we're all just screwed up right now."

"Perhaps." She glanced at the cable box again. "5:45…Do you two want breakfast?" she asked him, her hair a bit mussed now.

"Wow, I still get breakfast? Either way, I think Gaara already found something." He said, half jokingly.

"Yes, you do. I really don't wanna leave without seeing that you two have at least eaten breakfast."

Kankurou sighed again, noting that he had been doing that a lot lately. Temari really looked stressed out. "You know…you're the one that needs the sleep. Relax, you don't leave until seven thirty. If you want to go back to bed, I'll wake you up or something."

She looked up, surprised. "Y-you really care?"

Kankurou turned away, scoffing and putting up his bad-ass façade. "No. I just want my meal, and it'll suck if you're tired." He said quickly, avoiding her eyes.

She smiled. Kankurou had always been like that. He cared, he was just always afraid to show it. That was their father's fault. He always hurt people close to them.

Well, he really didn't hurt anyone other than Gaara and occasionally them, but still. It was enough to make the younger teen almost completely cut himself off from kindness and compassion. And when he did show it, he often tried to deny the whole thing.

Blushing, although Temari couldn't really tell in the bad lighting, he turned back to her, scowl still on his face. "So…go get some rest. I ain't dealing with pissy crab-ass Temari later." This said, he turned back to the television and continued watching 'Boy Meets World' (I know it's not on that late. …At least I don't think so. I DON'T KNOW! I don't even watch it! My friend had me see an episode and it gave me an idea!)

* * *

Grinning from ear to ear for no reason, Temari almost skipped upstairs back into her bedroom. As she passed the kitchen, Gaara gave her a look, then continued munching on the toast he'd found. 

'…What did Kankurou DO to her?'

* * *

Kankurou stared at the television screen, slack-jawed in utter awe. On the screen, a boy was telling a girl that she needed to call the police and report her father for abuse. The girl was standing there, holding her left arm, where there was quite obviously a bruise, protesting that she was fine and that it'd all work out. The boy kept pushing, but gave up soon after. 

'Heh…that's why we never asked Gaara when we went to the police. He would've refused us going, and we can hardly refuse him when he gets that upset.'

The scene changed to the next night, and there was the boy again, except this time, the girl had a nasty looking black eye. The boy was knocking on a door, and someone else (another male) opened it. The boy told his friend that the girl needed to get out of where she was. Completely fallen for the girl, his friend tried to defend her by both avoiding the subject and saying it wasn't what she wanted.

Kankurou was hardly paying attention; he was way too awed by that coincidence of him watching this. Before he knew it, the scene had changed again, and the three teenagers were going back to the house where the first boy lived. They were saying something coming inside, and the parents came out from hiding.

Kankurou snorted. Now THAT was cheesy. The parents explained that she needed to call the police right away, or it wasn't ever going to get better. In the end, they called the police, and the girl got to live with her aunt in Indiana.

The brunette scowled. It never actually turned out that way. It never had, and it never would. Unless you were ultimately lucky. That was a rarity. His attention snapped back to the screen as an announcers voice came on, telling people to call a number to report child abuse. The man continued, saying that they would listen and they would get help, no matter how ridiculous it seemed.

His fingers itched for the phone. He shoved them in his jean pockets instead. He wasn't going to be that naïve or hopeful. Nothing ever worked out that way for them.

Feeling sickened by the show's incorrectness (as far as he was concerned), he turned the television off and joined his brother in the kitchen. The two brothers sat in silence for a little while in the dim to dark lighting of the kitchen. Surprisingly, Gaara was the one to break the silence.

"…What was Temari mad at you about?"

Kankurou bit his lip. He couldn't tell him. But he shouldn't keep things from him, either…

"Nothing." He said, after a mental war with himself.

"Oh."

More silence. Both were comfortable with it, and often preferred it to the screaming the usually infiltrated anyone's ears in any place of the house.

"Anything you want to do today?" Kankurou asked, trying to see if he could get them out of the house.

"…I'm afraid to…" the smaller boy admitted. "I d-don't want him to come home…a-and get mad…" he whispered, turning his gaze downwards.

Kankurou sighed. He didn't want to take Gaara anywhere if he was going to be that skittish. It wouldn't do good for him to be in crowds when he got like this. His claustrophobia intensified.

"Well…yeah, that's true…I was kind of hoping we wouldn't have to be around the house today…but whatever. It'll be fine." He tried to reassure Gaara, who really looked scared and nervous, but he couldn't assure him falsely.

Noting that the smaller boy hadn't calmed down, he sighed, looking for something to say. "I…" He trailed off. Never had he been the one to be strong with his words, but if it calmed Gaara down, he could try. He searched again.

"I…I won't let him hurt you." He said after a while, looking down into his lap. Gaara's head snapped up.

"R-really?" he whispered, appalled.

"Yeah. Duh! What are brothers for?" He managed a weak smile, trying to look reassuring.

It worked, and Gaara looked a little less tense.

"Are you sure there's nothing you'd like to do?"

"Yeah, I'm fine for today."

It was then Temari walked back down the stairs, hair fluffy from her nap. "Does my hair look okay?" She asked, turning to Kankurou.

Kankurou grinned when she turned to show him. Glancing off to the side deliberately, he tried not to crack up. "Nope." He said, knowing how much it annoyed her.

"UGH! WHY DO I ASK YOU? You didn't even LOOK!" she fumed, jutting her hip out and placing her hand on it impatiently.

Gaara stifled giggles. Laughing in the house was considered a ''stake', so he didn't want it to ring to each corner.

"No, seriously, it's sticking out 'n stuff. Jeebus, just wear it down!" Kankurou said, half seriously.

"…No." She said firmly.

"WHY NOT?"

"That's like, TABOO!" she screeched.

"I'll pay ya!"

"SURE YOU WILL!" She said, half joking.

"…True, I won't. But seriously. Do it for your loving brother?"

"Loving my ass…" she mumbled, but glancing at the time, pulled out each of the four pigtails, sending golden locks cascading to a few inches past her shoulders.

If Temari hadn't been his sister, Kankurou's jaw would've dropped to the floor. With her hair down and framing her face, any guy would die for her.

"What are you staring at? Is it still sticking out?" She asked, running her hands through it.

"No. But I see why you keep it up. Whatever. Go to school."

"Fine. Be that way." She joked, grabbing her book bag and walking out the front door, with a 'good bye' of "Be careful!"

Kankurou closed the door, sighing. Today was going to be long.

* * *

Temari trudged her way over to the high school. She really didn't like to leave them home on a Thursday. When their father came home, he tended to be violent, and drunk. 

Maybe they could get away or something if he was drunk, though. No, Gaara hated doing that. She bit her lip. Each possibility led to a dead end.

She almost sighed. It's not like it would've happen anyways, but she still wished she could try to prevent it. After all, she was the eldest. And yet, Kankurou took a lot of the responsibility.

But, who said responsibility had anything to do with age? Their father was an example of that. Forty years old and not knowing how to react to the death of his wife, supposedly caused by his three year old.

She looked up, getting to the school grounds. As she was walking towards the doors, as to have an easier chance at her locker when the rush all burst into the doors at once, she noticed the boys staring at her.

At first, she couldn't remember why. Then, bringing a hand up to check her ponytails, she remembered that they weren't there.

'I really went to school with my hair down? This is…not going to be good.'

Flustered, she made her way to the doors. A few of her friends approached her, awed smiles plastered onto their faces.

"Temari! Your hair is SO pretty down!" Gushed one. A few others agreed, and Temari said nothing, but blushed a lot.

She was thankful when the bell to go in rang, and made her way to her locker as quickly as possible, yanking her stuff from it and half running to her first hour class.

…Completely forgetting the fact that Kisame had an infatuation with her.

"Hello TemaRIIIII!" he gawked, milky-blue (more with a whitish hue) eyes wide as saucers. "H-holy fizzle, girl…you look awesome!"

Her face as red as Gaara's hair, she made her way to her seat. Kisame followed, gushing about how pretty she looked with her hair down. Because Kisame was loud, this attracted a lot of the other boys to come over and 'inspect her head'. (As my dear friend would call it. It's never 'What did you do to your hair? It looks nice!'. It's 'What did you do to your head? It looks funny!'.)

"Alright class, settle down!" Kurenai called, before the late bell rang. Kisame settled down next to her, flashing a toothy grin. Temari wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She hardly made it through first hour, and she was glad Kisame wasn't in her second.

"Temari, would you please come up and demonstrate how to do the problem on the board?" Kurenai asked near the end of class. Kurenai was much a procrastinator, and even though there was quite literally a minute left in the class, she was still going strong. Temari had already packed up her stuff to be ready for the bell.

Sighing, she walked up to the bored and picked up the white piece of chalk. Her senses picked up 26 other pairs of eyes staring at her. Flushing a deep red, she almost couldn't finish the problem. Luckily, she managed to find the answer (5.643 x h to the fourth power Stupid computer…can't figure out how to do exponents…) just as the bell rang, and dropping the chalk back to the tray, she scooped up her stuff and left.

Even though it was only her third day being at this school, she understood how overcrowded it was and how much she needed to hurry to get to her next class on time with everyone switching at once. Because of how messed up the authorities were at the school, her classes were scattered everywhere, and her second hour happened to be all the way across the building.

Managing it through the door, she noted that while they only had three minutes to switch, and two and half of them were already gone, she was the first one in the class.

Another class. Another set of stares. Another mental note to kill Kankurou if he was in okay shape when she got home.

That last thought sent a pang of guilt through her. Kankurou really was only trying to help, she thought. And chances are, their father would still be mad at him and Gaara. Perhaps even more so than he was before.

After all, Gaara had fended him off. Twice. She hoped he'd be able to do it again if he got brutal.

* * *

Gaara was officially freaked out now, Kankurou noted. Hell, so was he, but he wasn't letting it show. The clock read 11:55, and Gaara had started shaking. 

Although he couldn't remember just what happened when his father wasn't home on those Wednesdays, he definitely remembered what happened when he came back, always drunk.

Even though you're supposed to be less coordinated when you're drunk, that man still managed to do the most damage then. If it was out of pure strength and guess of aim alone, none of them knew. He was probably still angry with them. And it was only he and Gaara home now.

At 11:59, the door opened. Gaara's shaking increased, and Kankurou wondered if you could have a seizure from shaking that hard. He listened closely, noting the footsteps were very uncoordinated sounding. If they were lucky, he'd go to bed.

Did we mention that Kankurou wasn't very lucky?

As soon as the thought made it's way into his head, the drunk man stormed into the room, tripping over multiple objects that Kankurou had laid there purposefully, just for the sake of getting some satisfaction of watching him fall and knowing he was too drunk to notice.

"Wha' th' hell you doin' hurr?" he managed to slur. "Should'n' ya be a' schoo'?" As if remembering something, an angered look crossed his (for once) relaxed features. "Oh yah. I f'rgot! Ya f'ckers d'cided tha' schoo' ain' good 'nuff for yas!" In his anger, he grabbed something off a nearby table, Kankurou's CD player, and chucked it in Gaara and Kankurou's general direction.

Kankurou ducked his head, but kept his hand outstretched and caught it. It stung his hand where it had impacted; the drunk in front of them had thrown it hard. He was glad it hadn't hit him or Gaara.

Walking over to Gaara while Kankurou was busy with this, the man lifted him by the shirt up off the couch, dragging him across the floor and into the wall. Kankurou sat still, wishing he could do something, but knowing it'd make it worse later.

He turned away when his father started shouting things at the boy while kicking him repeatedly in the side. He heard a cough and a few other wet sounding noises, and he knew Gaara had thrown up. 'Wonderful…' he thought. 'More emotional abuse, and once more, nothing in his stomach…'

He knew he should be used to it.

He knew he couldn't do anything to stop it.

But that didn't mean he would ever shrug it off as 'everyday life'.

* * *

Temari breathed a sigh of relief. She was in the locker room, tying her shoes. The day was almost done. Never had she been so grateful to get home, but people staring was really beginning to freak her out. Finishing up, she grabbed her stuff and stalked out the door just before the bell rang. Some teachers considered even that cutting class, but she didn't really care. The halls got even worse at the end of the day. 

Quickly swerving around rowdy groups, she made it to her locker in about a minute. She grabbed her book bag and sprinted to the main doors, bus card in hand.

Speaking of the bus card, she scowled. The administrative system made it a new rule that all students, unless they literally lived across the street, were to take the bus with the jr. high school. That bothered her. It actually took longer to ride home on the bus than it did walking, but the administrative system would be the administrative system.

A glance around told her the busses weren't here yet, so she decided to walk and think.

Now, to do this, you must know how to double task. Especially if you're a deep thinker. Usually, avoiding people means keeping your gaze strait ahead. It generally worked, unless you were crossing a street, which then you would have to stop your thinking path altogether, unless you were an expert at it.

Temari was an expert at walking and thinking. She generally looked forward, and her heightened sixth sense picked up things from either side. That was the only thing she could thank her father for. He had put her and her two younger siblings in such a fear that all three had remarkable intuition. Only Gaara had the severe flinching problem, but it was understandable.

But, of course, looking forward did not mean looking down. But what rightful human in a high school would be that much shorter than Temari? Temari herself was a bit on the short side, standing at about 5'5", which compared to Kankurou's nearly 6' was short, but compared to Gaara's just past 5', was tall. It was confusing, but in short, no one was short enough that she would bump into them or step on them or something.

Unless they were laying down against a tree like some lazy idiot.

"OY! OW!" came a scream from below her. Temari jumped, then glanced down, a bit annoyed at having her thought fest disrupted.

Someone was laying against the tree, looking thoroughly pissed off now, glaring daggers at the senior. "Get the hell off my leg!"

She did so, without saying a word.

"Damn girls…so troublesome…" he mumbled, settling against the tree again.

Temari was a bit on the outgoing side. Just a little bit, but this irked her enough to do something.

"GIRLS are troublesome? Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure it's you bastards that have obsessions with impregnating us!" she screeched.

The brunette on the ground opened one eye, annoyed. "Not all guys are like that, you know." He said.

It was then that Nara Shikamaru (for those of you who didn't know that was him…uhm…I was still stupider when it took me five minutes to figure out Kankurou's secret…AFTER reading the sixteenth chapter of Vindicated.) got a good look at the blonde above him.

**

* * *

Shikamaru's POV **

It was like the beauty of the devil was standing before me. She sure as hell had an annoying personality, which sucks, since she was beautiful. Golden locks and (:thinks: What color ARE Temari's eyes? Whatever, I can see them green, so they're green now.) large emerald orbs full of anger framed a delicate face. Although she was pissed at me, I was quite the happy lazy-ass indeed to have her standing over me like this. I got a perfect view.

Wait! SNAP OUT OF IT, SHIKAMARU! She's like…beautiful and all, but you don't even know her name! Ugh! Love is so troublesome…

**

* * *

Back to Normal POV **

Temari blinked, surprised. Most guys would answer that with something stupid, like Kankurou had. (We impregnate you because if we're continuing the human race, better do it with the hot looking ones, or you'll get one ugly baby.)

"Well, most are!" she snapped, determined to get the last word.

The brunette below her sighed, closing his eyes. After a moment, he reopened them and held out his arm. "My name is Nara Shikamaru, freshman. I hate fighting with girls like you, because they always want the last word. It's very troublesome." He drawled, bored.

Temari blinked and stared at the extended appendage for a moment before taking it. "Sabaku Temari, senior…" she said slowly.

Sabaku…Sabaku…where had our lazy friend heard that before?

"Oh. I have your brother in my first hour class. Rather, I did before he disappeared or whatever. He's a stick. You should feed him."

Shikamaru thought he was making conversation. Little did he know, that struck a nerve. Hard.

Temari's expression changed from one of distant worry at the mention of her little brother, and then to flushed anger at the mention of his weight. Kicking him in the side, she stalked off, giving him the finger.

Shikamaru rubbed his side, returning her gesture. Some girls were just too troublesomely sensitive…

* * *

I AM SOOOO SORRY THIS WASN'T OUT SOONER! I was working on it, then I got writers' block, so I just slowed down… A LOT because I didn't want another turn out like chapter seven, since a few people didn't like this. I'm glad I waited instead of doing something stupid, though. So, once again, sorry. I'll try to get chapters out quicker in the future. 

**Review Responses!**

**Burning Tree** – It IS horrible! I could picture Sunaga as a ghetto place too, so it all fit in. I guess I portrayed the police like that on purpose. I know for a fact most cops aren't like that. My one friend is the laughing stock of the police station. LONG story. YOU PLAY DDR? I LOVE YOU. Yeah, I can do SOME heavy, but I'm mostly at that annoying point where standard is too easy and most heavy is too hard.

**narroch06** – Yeah, the idea for this struck me way back in August. The plot bunny (:coughhurricaneridercough:) went and bit me. So I wrote it. SOCIETY SUCKS! IT SHOULD BURN! DOWN WIFF DA MORAL MAJORITY, 'CUZ I WANNA BE DA MINORITY! I always think I'm not having enough of a relationship between Shuuki and Gaara. Yeah…not too many people were fond of those…actually, it was more of a half and half, and I really have no excuse for them besides writers' block. I freak out when I don't get my chapters out in time, because I'm afraid I'll lose reviewers, so I sped it up. I only managed this because…well, I don't know. But I still freaked out at the end. I hope it doesn't show here. Yeah…the bus rides weren't too impressive.

**tiggra **– I'm sorry about the ending…Wait a second. I DIDN'T PUT NEJI IN HERE, DID I? Dammit! I keep doing that! Okiis, the next chapter shall start very Neji-centric, since I keep leaving him out.

**KageNoKatana** – YAY! I'm glad you started reading it again! It makes me so happy. Are you STILL sick? (Probably not, but I'm full of blonde moments…) Shuuki reminds me of a mother hen. Hm…strange be my friends an I! xD

**Kanky-chan –** THE POLICE SHALL BURN! He will die too. The Kazebastard will die. LYKE, OMIGOD. I'M POSTING THIS ON YOUR B-DAY! Ha! Now I can be cheap and not get you anything! THIS IS YOUR B-DAY PRESANT! BEHOOOOOLD! I'm glad you're almost to standard, Kanky. Don't over exert yourself, though. Gaara will freak out.

**Chronic-fever** – YES IT HAS:Gai pose: The band-aid scene was kawaii and sappy. Yay! I know I'll have at least two reviewers for that, then!

**Spork ai** – Standard/heavy mode ish mah friend. n.n He can't cut, poor thing. If you put yourself in that position, though, wouldn't you? That's how I thought about it. The kazekage will die. Don't worry…I want a mental health day now. I don't think my mom will give me one. She'll like…rush me off to the psychiatrist for asking. I want Gaara's clothes too. Badly. Those pants sound amusing…

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – GASP! I still love that song to itty pieces. I love anything with meaningful lyrics. Yeah, I know the cutting thing is REALLY abused, but I put myself in his position, and if you think about it, anyone would try it, unless they were scarred and swore to never do something like that. I don't really see them as 'jocks' either, not how they're REALLY stereotypically labeled, but in my school, a jock is ANYONE, regardless of anything, that's good at sports. Sasuke and Naruto both fall into that category. I was afraid for that flashback, really. It was one of those 'crap…this has gotta be in here…' last minute things that I always do. I know I could've done a lot more with Neji, but once more, I put myself into his shoes, and something….kind of similar, but not immensely so happened with me once at a friends house. Trust me on that, there is such thing as awkward silences with people you truly care for.

**DragonMan180 **– It is kind of scary, but I can see it. I knew a nine year old that acts like how I'm gonna portray her (if I ever go into her character…I think I will, though). You're right, Naruto isn't much of a jock, but in my school, a jock is someone who's good at sports, regardless of anything else. I don't think he particularly cares for the title. You're right; he is in his own category. He has a couple connections in Konoha, like with big big businesses and stuff. I'll explain that later…eventually…

**Hurricane-rider** – It's just magic like that. Ack! I know, I know! More NejiGaa! You see, I didn't plan on them admitting their feelings until after the-

RP: OY. Shut up, now!

…Oops. n.n;;

Go randomness in reviews! Glomps for brotherly ai! Whoo!

**Reviiiiiiiiew…**


	11. Infatuation

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I returrrn! I'll try to make these updates come quicker, because yeah. Last time took a while…

Disclaimer: Don' own it, don' care.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji lived in quite an extravagant environment. His uncle and guardian was quite the rich one, being highly involved in politics. As a result, he and his two cousins, Hinata and Hanabi were quite spoiled. 

Mind you, Neji wasn't shallow. So, being spoiled like this was an especially gleeful bonus. He liked to think of Hiashi as his father, but he knew that would never be possible.

At the moment, he was lying down on his bed (a water bed) and listening to some music on the radio. He generally liked any kind of music, so there was no point in him buying CD's of his favorite bands. The radio kept him occupied for hours.

Whenever the radio was on, it usually meant he was thinking. In this case, the subjects of his thoughts were the friends he had made only a few days ago. According to Kankurou, Thursday wasn't a good day for company. He couldn't help but wonder why Thursday wasn't, but Wednesday was.

On Wednesday, he was pretty sure the three's parents weren't home. Did they not get along well? Maybe it was one of those teenage rebellion things; he didn't know. He didn't want to pry, but he was beginning to be concerned for them.

Neji kept telling himself that he had no right to be concerned or jump to conclusions right away; he had only known them since Monday. But he just couldn't help but wonder.

He remembered as they walked home how Temari had looked like she was going to cry, Kankurou looking absolutely disgusted, and especially Gaara's look of pure terror.

That look scared him and reminded him of something. Something he wasn't willing to confront just yet. He'd deny it until he found the truth. Neji was not one to jump to conclusions and assume by appearance how people's life was.

…But he couldn't shake the thought. Were they abused?

He cringed even thinking about it, both because he hated to assume things right away and the thought of it was so horrible. He wanted to dismiss the thought, but he couldn't.

'I'm not jumping to conclusions just yet…I just know the symptoms!' he kept telling himself. He wouldn't ask about it yet. That was up to them to tell him if they wanted.

He scowled. Now it sounded like he was suspecting things. And he wasn't. Absolutely not.

Having finally assured himself of this, he sat up, pressing the power button on his stereo. It had been on for about three hours straight, and his conscience just wouldn't let him waste his uncle's electricity bill.

He had only just sat back down on the watery goodness when a knock sounded at his door.

"Neji?" came the voice of his uncle. "In a few hours, I'm to attend a business meeting with my colleague, Sabaku (Um…um…um:thinks: I CAN'T THINK OF A NAME!) Kazekage. (Shut up. I'm on brain fart.) I've been informed that he has three teenagers you and your cousins could hang around with."

A light bulb went off in Neji's head. Sabaku was Gaara's last name! He really felt he needed to gather things about their parents…as horrible as it seemed. He felt like some snotty spy, but his curiosity did not like being starved. He considered it for a moment.

"Sure, I'll go." He said casually. "Do I need to dress up?" he said, mentally groaning.

"No. I do, though."

Mentally cheering, he nodded. "Alright. That'll work."

"We leave at six. It's around four now. Sabaku-san says he will be hosting a late dinner. If you're hungry, have a light snack." Came the voice from the door, knowing Neji's horse-like appetite.

Neji grinned. "Sure. Thanks." He called, closing the conversation. Flopping down on the bed, he blessed fate for this opportunity. His…crush on Gaara, he noted, had come into terms with him even more clearly, so not only did he anticipate seeing him again, but meeting his father and figuring out what was going on. It worried him.

* * *

"TEMARI!" 

The shout came from the kitchen. Temari winced, glancing over at the sleeping Kankurou and the completely out of it Gaara. Sighing, she walked quietly out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Yes Dad?" she replied, announcing her presence. It took a lot to not spit the paternal title like venom, but she wanted to stay on his good side.

He merely glared at her, as he usually did. "I'm having company over tonight. Prepare a lot of food." Was the simple demand.

Temari stared, fighting the urge to let her jaw drop. "B-but…how many people?" she remembered a time when he had had a business meeting. Twenty-five of his employees. She had spent the entire day cooking food for the meal.

"It should just be me, you, your brother," she didn't fail to notice he only said 'brother' instead of 'brothers'. That meant Gaara would probably be deprived…again. "…my colleague, his daughters, and his nephew." Seven people. Not that bad. She'd also prepare something for Gaara, regardless if he were to eat with the family or not.

"Should we look nice?" she ventured, cautiously.

"I need to dress up. I don't care what you wear, as long as you get your dumbass brother into something normal looking." The man had always despised how Kankurou and Gaara dressed. That's partially why they did it.

"And…is Gaara getting fed?" she asked, voice smaller.

"That fatass? He doesn't need shit." He spat, turning out of the room.

She resisted the urge to scream at him. How would he react upon knowing Gaara's weight? If he ever was told, that is.

Fuming, she stalked back up the stairs into Kankurou's room. Gaara was still sitting in the uncomfortable position of his hands pressed under his knees as he knelt on the hardwood floor, his head bent completely forward, probably cramping that thin, white neck. (Only KIND of stolen from 'A Child Called "It"'!) She bit her lip. That's how she had found him, with Kankurou sprawled unconscious next to him, his CD player laying near his head, blood splattered onto it. She knew what had happened.

She had convinced Gaara, who looked especially haunted, to get to her room and she managed to drag Kankurou to her bed. As soon as she closed the door, Gaara had sat back in the position.

She bit her lip, softly padding over to the younger boy and kneeling in front of him. His eyes widened slightly and his shoulders tensed almost unnoticeably.

"Gaara…" she said, her voice full of kindness. "Gaara…Please, you don't have to sit like that. He's not making you anymore."

At the kind tone of her voice, he raised his head, and Temari's sharp ears picked up the sound of his neck cracking as he did so. He looked somewhere near her chin, afraid to meet her eyes.

"Gaara…your hands…you don't have to keep them there…"

He pulled out two shaking hands, resting them on his knees, which looked far too bony even under the cloth of his pants.

Her look softened even more, and she pulled her baby brother into a soft embrace, rubbing his back slowly, in a silent request for him to loosen fear-tensed muscles.

At first, he stiffened even more, her touch snapping him out of his coma-like state before almost collapsing against her, bringing his legs out from under him and crossing them in front.

A moment later, she broke the hug, keeping her hands on the red head's thin shoulders, a small smile gracing her fair features. Ruffling his hair, she stood up, noting that he hadn't flinched at her last touch. Rather proud, she went to check on the bandage around Kankurou's head.

Gaara stared, tracing her movements with eyes masked of any emotion. She was so gentle with the both of them. It left him with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Casting his gaze down to his hands, he wondered why she cared so much.

'I…couldn't save Nii-chan…' was the sad thought.

To him, that was the truth. After their father was done with him, he had turned on Kankurou again. Unlike himself, Kankurou fought back, and finally, the man got a hold of Kankurou's portable CD player once again and bashed him in the head with it. The blow knocked him unconscious immediately.

Through that, their father had instructed Gaara to kneel on his hands and tilt his head forward, keeping his eyes locked on the situation, but rendering him helpless. So, he concluded, it was his own fault.

He was surprised at the sound of his own voice.

"Is…Is N-nii-chan g-gonna be okay?" he said, his whisper almost inaudible.

Temari turned, a small smile still on her face. "Yeah. He'll be fine. You should know by now; no blow to the head could ever take out Kankurou."

He couldn't help a tiny smile crossing his face, and he glanced up, meeting Temari's gaze for the first time since the older girl had gotten home.

Temari smiled back, but it looked a little strained. "Gaara…" she began.

"Hm?"

"Dad's having a friend over for dinner tonight. He said you aren't to be included in the meal. What do you want to eat so I can make it personal for you?" he voice held bits of anger, but they faded almost instantly.

Gaara blinked. Friends? Of course. Why should a disgrace like he – an _it_ as his father had said earlier – be included in something so dignified as a meal gathering?

He almost scowled to himself. If Kankurou would've heard those thoughts, he would've gotten the lecture of a lifetime. He knew he shouldn't believe his father's words. But it had been going on for eleven years. He didn't have that much hope left, if he had any at all.

So, since he had believed and accepted that he was the lowest, filthiest creature on Earth, this rejection came as no surprise.

Looking up, he realized Temari still wanted an answer.

"Oh…um…what are you making?"

"I figured I'd do something with some type of elegant looking fish and vegetable side dishes."

"Anything you make is fine." He said, truthfully. He didn't really care, just as long as he ate SOMETHING. That was the one thing he still held strong. He would never give in to his father calling him fat. He got that he was severely underweight, so unless he didn't feel like worrying anyone, or he just wasn't hungry, he always accepted food.

His father called him a pig. He really didn't care. Kankurou praised him for that shred of hope and strength.

He never called it that. He just called it common sense. It was something he knew to be true.

Shrugging it off, he turned as Kankurou began to wake up.

"Ow…son of a bitch my head hurts…" he mumbled, turning over.

"Kankurou." Temari said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"….Mmph…ten more minutes…"

"No! Not ten more minutes! Dad's having one of his dinner parties; you need to find something that isn't strait outta Hot Topic!" she said firmly, shaking his shoulder slightly.

This appeared to wake the sixteen-year-old up.

"What the fuck? First he bashes me over the head, knocks me unconscious, and now he wants me to attend his godamned dinner party?" he exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing his bandaged head.

Temari sighed, nodding. "Yeah…Gaara's not invited, as usual."

This appeared to only anger Kankurou further. "Damn it! I hate how he makes you pretend you don't exist!" he almost shouted, but caught himself knowing their father could be nearby.

Temari sighed again, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. "Kankurou…" she trailed off, knowing that a lecture would be completely fruitless.

Kankurou looked down into his lap. His head was beginning to throb. He'd need to take some pain killers later. He groaned, realizing that his headache would probably get worse at the dinner later.

Leaning back into the mountain of pillows, he glanced at Gaara. The younger boy was sitting against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, with his chin on his knees. From the incident earlier, he sported a black eye, a nasty bruise on the left side of his head, a split lip, and four small crescent shaped cuts on his neck.

The sight of those little cuts made Kankurou's anger flare again. That bastard had been choking Gaara; he could've killed him this time. Kankurou had intervened, costing him a few brain cells and a headache, but that was okay.

He was also sure there was a bruise on his side and probably quite a few on his chest, and as he tallied it up, he realized just how bad the kid got it when Kankurou wasn't around to stop their father.

Well, that just meant he'd have to be around more often. He'd protect him.

A light bulb went of in Kankurou's head. '…Protect…' his eyes widened. He had broken his promise. He promised Gaara he wouldn't let the man hurt him. Feeling slightly sick, he rolled over, ashamed.

"N-nii-chan?" Gaara whispered, hardly audible. Kankurou's sharp ears picked it up though, and he turned to face his brother.

"I'm…s-sorry you h-had to get h-hurt…" he mumbled, keeping his gaze locked on his knees. "I w-was the one b-bein' b-bad…"

Kankurou's heart wrenched. Forcing the lump that had made its way to his throat down, he slid off the bed and knelt in front of the smaller boy.

"Gaara…I'm the one who broke the promise. I said I'd protect you, and you still got hurt. Stop blaming yourself; not everything is your fault." He said gently.

"Y-you d-didn't break the p-promise…y-you s-still p-protected m-me…" Gaara objected shyly, raising his gaze a little.

"Yeah…I suppose so…but if I didn't break the promise, it is NOT your fault I got hurt, okay?" he said, a little firmer.

Gaara hesitated, and then nodded, not quite meeting Kankurou's eyes, but seeming a little more confident. "You…you sh-should go g-get ready."

Almost beaming at the decrease in Gaara's stutter, Kankurou reluctantly nodded. Standing up, he brushed himself off before walking out of Temari's room to his own. Gaara heard the sound of a few drawers being slammed and knew Kankurou was going to have difficulty finding something without chains or anything 'inappropriate'.

Ten minutes later, he heard Kankurou swear, then walk out of the room and into the bathroom. He blinked. He couldn't recall Kankurou owning anything that wasn't from Hot Topic. Maybe he was mistaken.

* * *

"…Neji, I said you didn't have to dress up." Hiashi said, taking a glance at his nephew. The boy in front of him was dressed in a pair of nice slacks that he would never wear on free will and a white collared short-sleeved polo shirt. 

"Well…I figured that since this was a business meeting with your boss…I should look nice. Plus, Hinata and Hanabi are dressing up, I'd feel awkward not." He said, blushing slightly.

Hiashi smiled. He had always loved the boy's courtesy. It was so much like his sister, Neji's mother.

"Well, as soon as your cousins get down, we can leave." He said, warmly.

Neji smiled. He felt so lucky to be living in this family. When Hinata and Hanabi came down the stairs, they walked out together, with the seating arrangement as usual: Hiashi driving, Neji in front, Hinata in the middle seats and Hanabi in the back seats. (They has a prettyfull van.) It then struck Neji that they didn't need to drive.

"Um…Uncle? The Sabaku's live around the corner." He said.

"Really?" Hiashi asked, glancing at the address. "So they do. How did you know this?"

"I already know his three children, Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara." Neji replied. "Would it be too undignified to walk?" he asked, with a playful smile.

Hiashi seemed to consider this. None of his colleagues had ever lived this close before. "Well...I suppose not. It seems silly to drive anyways."

"But Daddy! I don't wanna get my dress ruined!" Whined Hanabi.

Neji rolled his eyes. She was such a brat sometimes. "You won't, it can't possibly go any higher." He said, noting the dress couldn't be any longer than mid thigh.

Fuming, the nine year old flipped her hair and started to walk, swaying hardly developed hips as she stalked off.

Snickering, he shook his head. "Hanabi?"

"WHAT?"

"Wrong way."

Turning around, the nine year old stomped past him and Hiashi, going in the correct direction.

Hiashi frowned. "…Hanabi?"

She turned, putting on a suck up face. "Yes, Daddy?"

"I'd rather you not stomp like some toddler over to Sabaku-san's house."

Hanabi's face fell. "Fine." She said, angrily, reverting back to her hip-swaying walk.

Hinata giggled shyly, placing a delicate hand over her mouth. Hanabi and her had such a stark personality contrast. Hinata was shy and had an interesting record of 'quietest student of the year' awards, while Hanabi was loud, obnoxious, and snobby. Looking at Hinata, you'd never be able to tell she was rich. She didn't really dress primly, like her sister. Neji didn't really either, but he was a lot louder than his cousin.

As they approached the door, Neji thought he could hear yelling, but he shrugged it off. Hiashi was the one to go to the door, ringing the doorbell and stepping back.

Out of nervous habit that he had no doubt picked up from his younger cousin, Neji chewed on his nails. Glancing at Hinata, she had begun to do so also. It was just a stupid little habit he and her had picked up from meeting so many unfamiliar people in their houses, and the ringing of the doorbell always made them feel awkward; like they were intruders. (If this is confusing, yeah…I get like this too. I'll chew on my nails until the person comes to the door, then I'll compose myself.)

It was almost a minute and a half later before they heard someone come down to the door. Neji, again, thought he was hearing yelling from inside the house, but he came to the conclusion that his ears were playing tricks on him.

"Uh…Hi! Dad's in here…"

Neji stared. Kankurou wasn't in black. Kankurou wasn't in spikes. Kankurou looked halfway NORMAL.

…And it was scary.

The boy in front of him was wearing a pair of off-white cargo pants, unadorned with chains of any type. His shirt was white with long sleeves under an over shirt type thing (You know the kind…the pretty button up ones that people leave opened over shirts) that was blue patterned with icy flames.

He wasn't listening as Kankurou made small talk with Hiashi, but he did snap back to reality when the older boy moved to let them into the house. As he passed him, Neji couldn't help a snicker.

"Shut up. It took FOREVER to find this!"

"You seriously have no dress clothing?" Neji asked, appalled.

"Well, none of us ever need dress clothing for anything except his dinner parties." He shrugged, like it was normal to not own something dressy. "I don't know, we just don't."

Neji shrugged, and then followed him into the living room. Temari was on the couch, wearing a simple pink dress and talking with Hinata and Hanabi. Temari was like the median between them, not being as boisterous and Hanabi, but not being as quiet as Hinata.

Something seemed out of place. Gaara was missing.

"Kankurou, where's Gaara?" It was Gaara he really wanted to see. His crush was really getting out of control.

"Um…he's…grounded." Kankurou said hesitantly. "So, he's not aloud to come down and socialize."

"Oh." Neji said, not missing Kankurou's hesitation. "What'd he do?"

"He…uh…he…mouthed off to dad." Kankurou said after a moment or so.

Neji didn't miss the almost desperate tone Kankurou had used. He tried to shrug it off, but found it was a bit difficult.

"So…can I go up and see him?"

Kankurou considered this. "I don't know, I'll ask him."

With that, he ran up the stairs. Neji glanced over at his uncle and their father. They weren't really paying attention to anything in the living room.

Neji was astounded by how much Sabaku Kazekage looked like his youngest son. Although his hair was more leaning towards a brown color, the facial structure looked the same.

The only difference other than his hair was his eyes. While Gaara had large, black ringed, masked aqua marine eyes that every so often shone with a thousand emotions, his father had cold, uncaring dark green ones. Those cold eyes sent shivers down his spine, and not the good kind.

He looked back when Kankurou came back down, standing next to him.

"Yeah, it's okay if you go up there. He should be in…my room, which is the second room to the left. All right? I'll call you down for dinner."

Neji nodded, then walked up the stairs, quietly.

* * *

Temari noticed the exchange of words concluded by Neji running up the stairs. She knew what that meant. Alarmed, she pulled Kankurou away to a discreet part of the room. 

"Kankurou, do you know what'll happen if Gaara's caught socializing?" she asked, panicked.

"…Yeah, I know. But what's the possibility of Dad caring? I'll call him down for dinner. If anything, he'll be in the bathroom. Okay?"

"Yes, but for that long? Kankurou, sometimes you don't think! You try to be rebellious and you don't realize the consequences! Dad won't let YOU take the blame or let ME take the blame or even let NEJI take the blame!" Kankurou chose not to comment on her first usage of the boy's actual name. "He'll still hit Gaara, and force him to believe that it was HIS fault! Like always! Kankurou, why do you keep doing this to him?"

"Temari, was I caught the last time I gave him some freedom?"

"No, no you weren't. But still, Kankurou, that's not the point. The point is that you're risking his life because you think he should have some fun!"

"Well, if that's my problem, then yours is living in complete fear of the man supposed to be our father. I can't stand living like that, and I don't want Gaara to either. I know asking him not to be is a lot, but by giving him that exhilaration of doing something 'wrong' without getting caught, it's like you're floating. Because you know you can get away with it."

Fuming, the older girl stalked off, to go talk once more to Hinata and Hanabi. Kankurou let out a wry smile.

'Sometimes…I just wish she wouldn't live in fear too.'

* * *

Neji counted off the rooms, noting that the door to second room to the left was closed. He knocked lightly, did his nail biting habit as he waited for Gaara to answer the door. 

A moment later, the tiny red head turned the knob and peered out, almost as if bracing himself for some blow, before looking up and seeing who it was.

"Oh! C-come in." he stammered, surprised.

Neji walked in the room and sat down on the bed. Kankurou's room had blue walls, but the rest was basically black, including the bed he was sitting on. Silence washed over the room for a moment, and Neji remembered their last meeting.

"So…Kankurou told me you were grounded." He ventured.

Gaara blinked. "O-oh…yeah. G-grounded." He stuttered. Neji frowned at this.

"How's dinner going to work for you?" He hoped the small boy wasn't skipping the meal. He didn't look like he could afford to miss anything.

"Temari's bringing a dish up."

Neji nodded. "Oh, okay. Kind of odd that your dad is my uncle's boss, hm?"

The older boy didn't miss Gaara's flinch at the words 'your dad'.

"Yeah…I guess that is kinda weird." He mumbled. "I wonder how many business meetings they'll have…"

Neji shrugged, happy that he had struck a conversation with the normally almost silent boy. "Who knows?"

Gaara also shrugged, playing with a piece of the quilt on Kankurou's bed. "When do we go back to school?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Tuesday, I believe. What's today?"

"Thursday, still."

Neji nodded. "So, we still have four whole days of freedom." He said, grinning.

Again, Gaara flinched. "Y-yeah…freedom."

"Are you sure your dad wasn't mad…? You seem kind of eager to go back." He asked, brow furrowing.

"Well…he was a little bit upset, but I want to go back…because…uhm…because my grades will probably re-really suffer, and I kind of d-don't want that…I'm stupid."

"No you're not!" Neji exclaimed. "You're very intelligent. Whoever told you that is a bastard."

Again, the smaller boy flinched. "But…it's not like I'm in honors classes or anything…like Temari…"

"So? That doesn't matter!"

"Are YOU in honors classes?"

"Well…yeah, but that doesn't mean anything, okay?" he said firmly. "You are a very intelligent individual." Saying these words, a faint blush tainted Neji's cheeks.

Gaara's ears turned red. He wasn't used to compliments from anyone. "Th-thanks…" he stammered.

Embarrassed, Neji was about to change the subject, when a knock sounded at the door.

Looking fearful, Gaara slid off the bed and slowly opened the door, peaking his head out as he did before. (DOOR AND BEFORE! THEY RHYME!)

"Hey, Gaara. Are my painkillers in there? Also, Neji needs to come down for dinner." Kankurou.

Gaara walked over and pulled a bottle out from under the bed. Handing it to Kankurou, he accepted the plate of food and can of pop, opening the door wider for Neji to get out.

"C'mon, Neji, chow time!"

Neji smiled, a billion butterflies attacking his stomach. It was official. He was infatuated with the enigmatic red head that was his uncle's boss's son.

* * *

Where did this week go? I said I'd have it out soon, and it wasn't! Kyaah! But, yeah, I've been really busy lately. I'm in the process of moving my room to my parents', and they're getting my room, and I have a project due the 23rd (That I haven't even started on n.n;;), so I'm swamped. I'll still try to have the next one out on Friday though. It'll be a birthday present to me. 

**HAWPPI!**

**Hurricane-rider –** I didn't know you could get high on crumb cake. O.O; You must teach me your ways…Yes, BAD KANKY, BAD! But, that's all cleared up in another sibling moment. I swear, there's gonna end up being more KankyGaa brotherly love than there is NejiGaa! (Joking…joking…) My dearest brother made me watch that episode. (Sam:in background: DON'T CALL ME DEAREST BROTHER!) My sisters watch Drake and Josh. You should totally do that, from what I've seen, it's an interesting show. I only remember one scene type thing about it. (Girl: So I guess we're boyfriend and girlfriend. Josh: Only on one condition! Girl: What's that? Josh: I GET TO BE THE BOYFRIEND!) It made me laugh. Oo…cake!

**spork ai –** Dude…like…I didn't get a review alert for your review. I only know you reviewed because I actually checked the pages on FF.N. o.o;; Yeah, some people are squeamish. Gaara's seen enough of his own blood to not be, I guess. I want to start the KankyGaa story while I'm still working on that, but I don't think I'll be able to do that right now, because I'm being swamped. If this story runs into the summer, then that'll be a good time to start it. Until my loving cousin, known as Kanky-chan, comes to visit. We fight over the computer when she comes n.n;; There is hardly any KankyGaa sandnincest…it's so sad.

**Chronic-fever –** That's how my friend always puts it. That and 'THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR HEAD!' Poor Kanky's hand…and Kanky's head. Ha. I win. Mixed emotions:feels accomplished: Oh, and don't worry about that. That's not what pressures me at all. It was just before when I was really trying to get it out, but I had writers' block, and I was freaking out.

**narroch06 **– Is he? I think Shika's cool. I love his attitude. I can just really see Kankurou as this tough guy trying to block it all out. I used to wear my hair down on a daily basis, but I don't now. Now, if I keep it down I get hit on T.T Lazy people are awesome.

**Burning tree** – No, you didn't ask, but it was explained in an earlier chapter. Since that was a LOOOOONG time ago, like…chapter one, I'll explain again. The sand demon within Gaara owes a debt to the Kazekage for taking him out of the teakettle and into a 'better' host. So, he lets him do what he wants to Gaara, as long as the boy doesn't die. TemShika is one of the only non-Yaoi pairings I enjoy.

**Kanky-chan** – Of course. …WHADDYA MEAN I DON'T GET OUT OF A PRESENT:runs to find money now that she has to buy a gift: Kanky, Tsugaru on standard…uhm…….:maniacal grin: Try heavy, it's easier; trust me.

**DoeEyedHyuuga **– Okay…the beginning of that review is kind of like…yeah. But anyways. I didn't really understand your review, but I'll try my hardest to respond to it. Chapter titles do not come easy to me. It's getting a little easier, but yeah. Rika, my chapters are on the long side, I do believe. This one is 13 pages of actual chapter (not counting the reviews and the A/N's). Which chapter are you talking about? If it's the first, then Gaara was in a dream for the first section of that chapter. Reality starts at the gray line break. Again, what chapter do you mean for the A/N's? I happen to know a lot of people that do that; put a lot of A/N's in the story while the readers are reading it. Maybe chapter six…? Well, if you read the one up top, I was writing that one on the road, so I put the A/N's in to humor my readers. A lot of them were amused. Just a little jaded. As for Shika, I think you were the only one there, because everyone else loved him. In…con…gruent? O.o;;;

**Dragon Man 180** – No, inflicted vomiting is not fun. Well, breaks are quite uncommon in the life of an abused child. Have you read 'A Child Called "It"'? Yeah. They don't get breaks. It was a personal sized one, as seen in this chapter. Uhm…I don't have a set date. I'll tell you when I can. o.o;;

**littleanikaze **– Gaa-chan is kyoooooot:sparkle eyes: I hope this is soon; a week!

Reviews are FUN to give. They're also fun to respond to…


	12. Assembly

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Ha. I'm smart. Start the chapter the day you post the other one!

Disclaimer: Don' own it.

* * *

After the dinner party, while Neji felt quite stuffed, he was also quite disturbed. He hadn't found out a lot of information about Sabaku Kazekage, but his logic was disturbing. 

**FLASHBACK**

"So…Sabaku-san, you said your son was grounded, is he not aloud to join the meal?" Hiashi asked politely, as a conversation starter.

Neji didn't miss the gleam of intense hatred in the politically powerful man's eyes. "He needed to be punished. Something like him isn't rewarded with family dinner." He growled.

Neji could have sworn he felt the hatred radiate off of Kankurou.

**END FLASHBACK**

That look of hatred scared him. Where was the look of annoyance that a child had done something wrong? The love? The love should have been there.

He sighed for the umpteenth time that night. It had been plaguing him for quite a while since they had gotten home. Maybe even Hiashi was concerned; he didn't know.

Frowning, he tried to recall a picture of the red head in his mind. He hadn't really been paying too much attention to his appearance, being so concerned on his behavior, but now that he thought of it, he had looked a bit roughed up. One eye had been slightly darker than the other; probably a black eye, his lip had been split, and he had looked in pain.

Obviously, he wouldn't have been able to see anything under the black turtleneck he had worn, but when he had moved, didn't he wince like he was in pain? What was going on?

His curiosity was going to get him killed one day. He wanted to ask, but feeling that might turn out awkward, he decided to wait it out. He was a firm believer in that everything would work out okay, so he figured he'd find out eventually.

He figured he couldn't go over today, especially if Gaara was still 'grounded'. Plus, after meeting their father, he really wouldn't mind only being able to come over on Wednesday.

Thinking about it, he hadn't seen a mother. That he wouldn't pressure, knowing the loss of a maternal figure was not something you should bring up often or at all. Still, he worried for his three new friends. Sighing, he tried to get himself to sleep. He knew that worrying over everything would get him nowhere.

* * *

Gaara sighed and peeled the black turtleneck off his thin frame. It had been very warm today, as well as humid, but he didn't want Neji to have seen the four little cuts on his neck. It had finally gotten too hot, and when the shirt began to cling to him, Gaara decided it was best to get into a pair of…Kankurou's pajamas. 

He hoped Kankurou wouldn't make him go get pajamas. He hated to see Kankurou do all that for him. It wasn't really pride; he had none of that.

'It's probably just my pessimism.' He told himself glumly, slipping the large shirt over his head. Glancing down, he decided he could go without pants, since the shirt was past his knees. He took one final glance in the mirror at himself.

He was pathetic. Short red hair stuck up in odd angles all over the place, in some places falling over his forehead, which was an alabaster color. (AND I KNOW JUST HOW PALE THAT IS:goes to her room and looks at her blinds: THAT PALE!) Milky sea foam green eyes framed were framed by dark circles. He scowled at himself. He was weak and pathetic through that insomnia.

**Now, now. Let's not get pissy over me.** Came the demon, almost cheerfully. **After all, I've let you sleep peacefully for quite a while, now haven't I?**

Gaara's scowl deepened. 'Shut up. Some demon you are, anyways.' He said.

Hey. We've been through this. You know, I could always not let you sleep at all and let your father beat you to death. I even have my own ways of making you hurt.

Gaara almost sunk to his knees as a raging headache suddenly began, without warning. He struggled to stand up, bumping his bruised side on the edge of the sink, causing him to cry out weakly, hoping no one would hear.

Steadying himself on shaking legs, he gripped the side of the sink, knuckles white. After a moment, his head didn't hurt as much anymore so he walked outside the bathroom door, still supporting himself using a wall.

He made it to Kankurou's room and stumbled in. Kankurou looked up from his manga to give him a worried glance before masking it with a scowl.

"What's wrong?" he said, trying to sound annoyed.

"N…n-nothing…" Gaara said, not wanting to worry the older boy.

"…Bullshit. Come' ere." He said, the scowl still present, but his eyes softer.

Gaara shuffled over, collapsing on the bed. He could hear the demon laughing at him, degrading him, but he wasn't listening.

Letting down his mask now that he knew it to be 'safe', Kankurou reached over and felt his forehead, pulling back almost immediately.

"Shit, Gaara!"

Gaara winced. The laughing became louder and why was the room spinning? Kankurou was standing over him with a washcloth, and was he spinning too? Why was everything spinning? He thought it wouldn't stop, and then he closed his eyes.

Everything was cool and dark and he didn't have to worry about anything anymore. It was very comfortable. The spinning had stopped, and he felt his head fall forwards, hitting the soft mattress beneath him.

**I won't let you get away with it this time. I'll kill Kankurou!**

No matter how hard Gaara tried to ignore the raving voice, that last sentence struck a cord. His eyes snapped open and he sat up strait as a board. Kankurou looked horribly startled, but at least he was alive.

"…Gaara?" Kankurou called out, worried. It looked like the smaller boy was going to sleep, which Kankurou knew would probably bring down the fever he had felt raging under his fingers. When he snapped up, the fear in his eyes was so apparent that Kankurou wondered if he was delusional.

"Gaara…I-it's okay…" he stammered, unsure on how to calm the boy.

When his name was called, Gaara looked up again, as if analyzing something, before calming down, sinking into the mattress, his eyes open.

Kankurou seriously wondered what was wrong. "Gaara…you're running a fever…what's wrong?" he said, slowly.

Gaara looked up at him, and Kankurou noted that the terrified hysteric look in his brother's eyes was gone.

"N-nothing…j-just the d-demon…." He said, his voice a raspy whisper.

Kankurou's painted-over eyebrows skyrocketed. "The demon?"

"H-he's…m-mad at me…" Gaara said, hesitantly. "I gu-guess I insulted him. I feel better now."

Kankurou knew this to be a lie, but he didn't say anything, instead placing a hand to Gaara's face again. "Try to take some pills…I know it's hard for you, but whatever."

With that, he turned out the lights, leaving it up to Gaara whether to stay there, go to his room, or go get the medicine.

* * *

The rest of their suspension didn't come to be very eventful, and by Tuesday, Kankurou and Gaara wanted desperately to go back to school. 

Checking to make sure all of their stuff was in order, they zipped up their book bags, following Temari downstairs.

"Is there anything really big we missed?" Kankurou asked her.

Temari thought. "No, actually. There's supposed to be an assembly today about…" she trailed off, paling.

"…About what..?"

Temari sighed. "About abuse and what to do."

Kankurou scowled and Gaara flinched.

"Dammit. They're so incorrect with it. They never mention the threats. Ever." He mumbled.

Gaara stayed silent, staring at his feet. 'Great…I hate these things…I always have to be really careful or they'll suspect stuff…'

They walked to school in silence, Gaara and Kankurou attempting to remember lock combinations and schedules. When they got to the building, they were surprised to find Neji waiting for them.

"Hey!" He greeted casually with a wave. "Oh, just to let you know, there's going to be a really messed up schedule because of the assembly today." He went on to explain that since it was so long for the entire school, as their school was horribly supportive about stuff like this that classes would only be around 20 minutes long a piece before going into the assembly.

Kankurou cheered at first; he hated school with a passion and to get out of class would be amusing. Then he remembered why and almost wished he had a full day of class. These assemblies only caused tension for him and his siblings. Sighing, he decided to just go through with it, trying to act as normal as possible without throwing up in disgust to their inaccuracy.

Temari was engaged in a conversation with Neji about how, although the assembly was important, the boards could even think about putting any teenager through such a long viewing. Temari's half of the conversation was strained, as if she really wasn't looking forward to it anyways, which was true.

Neji himself didn't care. He was almost looking forward to it, to see if he could figure out what was wrong with his new friends. He felt really intruding, but he was still curious, and worried.

When the bell rang to go in, all four, being close to the door dashed into the building to avoid the raucous crowds. Neji split from the group, since his locker was in another part of the building. He quickly grabbed his stuff, having been there all of this year and his freshman year and professionalizing the skill of speeding through the 'stuff gathering'. He ran down a few hallways and made it to Gaara's locker while the smaller boy was still trying to reach his books, which were in the top compartment. (Okay…for lockers, there's like…the locker, than a compartment, than one on top of that. One locker gets the bottom compartment and the other gets the top. Gaara has the top. I have trouble getting to the top, and I made him my height, so yeah.)

Neji grinned and reached over his head, grabbingthe book. Gaara's head snapped back, looking at the arm above his head before he smiled nervously, like Neji had scared him.

"…Did I scare you?" he asked, worried.

"…No. Just kinda startled me."

"Oh."

Gaara straightened his books and such. He closed the locker, without the slam that everyone else used, checked his lock, and reached up to close the top compartment, his hand hardly brushing it. Neji reached up and did this for him, closing the door quietly.

Gaara couldn't help but blush. He had decided not to think about his crush on Neji for a while, but now that the boy was right here with him, it was hard not to. His only fear of the boy is that he'd hurt him, like everyone else. Yet, at the same time, for some reason he felt he could trust Neji.

It was so odd. So odd, that he wanted to just lock it away forever. But, he felt that that wasn't the correct thing to do. He was confused. Stopping in front of his homeroom, he gave a small smile to Neji with a 'goodbye' and walked in, pushing the door to his room open and sitting down.

Now, if there was a list of things that Gaara had an absolute terror of, being stared at was right up there with tight, enclosed areas and his father. Clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth, he took his seat, sinking as far low as possible in the chair.

"DUDE! You got into a fight? AWESOME, MAN!" screamed the ever-loud Uzumaki Naruto. Gaara only remembered his name due to that he was very noticeable and that you really don't forget the person that threw a basketball at you.

"…" Gaara really didn't feel like responding, but an entire group of people began to swarm around him.

"Lyke, omigod. I TOLD you he was anorexic, Ino! Look at him!" The girl with shrunken clothing said, giving him a glare.

"DO YOU HAVE WEIGHT LOSS TIPS I COULD USE?" her companion said, getting right up in his face so he could smell her perfume.

Sneezing violently and covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, he shook his head, eyes wide and scared looking.

The blonde scowled at him. "You suck." She sat on his desk instead, wanting to be with the crowd around his desk, especially since that heartthrob that they all loved was over here, glaring daggers at him that seemed laced with something else.

Gaara blinked. He hadn't even talked to this boy!

"Don't think just because you got suspended and came back makes you all cool, delinquent." He spat the word like a curse, causing Gaara to flinch.

"S-s-s-sasuke-k-kun…" came a tiny voice in the back. Not many people heard it until the girl with white eyes – Neji's cousin, if Gaara remembered correctly – managed her way to the front.

"I th-think we're sc-scaring him…" she stammered, her voice hardly a whisper amidst the din.

It seemed to Gaara like the circle of people was closing in on him, and it became hard to breathe. Someone sprayed perfume, and his lungs stopped working. Choking, he erupted into a coughing fit, just as Iruka walked into the room from talking to another teacher.

"Class! Get to your seats! Stop crowding him!"

Although the crowd dissipated, the toxic stench of perfume still lingered. Even through his sleeve, Gaara was still breathing it in, choking on it.

When this kept on for about 20 seconds, Iruka looked up, concerned.

"Sabaku-kun…?" he asked, concerned. "Why don't you step out for a drink?"

Gaara nodded blankly, and still coughing, made his way out of the room. When he passed Kankurou, the older boy looked worried.

* * *

Kankurou frowned. "Kakashi-sensei? May I use the restroom?" he didn't think the small boy was going to be okay. 

"Yeah, sure." The lazy man at the front desk said, without giving him a pass. Half rushing out the door, he caught up with Gaara in the hall, who had leaned against a row of lockers, able to breathe.

"You all right…?" he asked, concerned.

Gaara nodded, gasping for breath still. Kankurou put a hand to his forehead. It was a little warm, but he'd be okay for the moment.

"Come on, a drink will make you feel better." He offered a hand. Gaara took it and Kankurou pulled him off of the lockers.

Once he was off, Kankurou let go to see if he could stand on his own. When Gaara didn't topple over, Kankurou nodded and made his way to the fountains, Gaara close behind.

"What happened?" he asked when Gaara had taken his drink.

"Someone sprayed something…" he said. "It's still gonna smell in there when I get back…can I stay with you?" he almost begged. "They won't stop…and I have a lot of them in all my classes…"

"Gaara…I know, I know it's tough. But…you need to be in class today…" Kankurou said after a while. As much as he didn't want to leave Gaara when he got like this, the younger boy needed to be in class today. "It'll fade…I'm sorry, but…I don't think they'd let you anyways…okay?"

The small redhead nodded once, recomposing himself before walking back with Kankurou to their rooms.

"Alright, I'll see you at the assembly, okay?" Kankurou said, turning into his seat.

Gaara nodded, going through the double doors.

"Oy, Kank, who was that?"

Kankurou turned, annoyed by the name. "I told you, Zaku, it's Kankurou. I refuse to answer to Kank. And that was my brother."

"He looks retarded!" The girl said, scowling. "Too thin. Clothes way too big and old and nasty looking. What is he, emo?"

The trio Kankurou had become acquainted with was horribly stereotypical. "No. He's not anything." He said, annoyed.

"Whatever." The other boy, Dosu said. "Kin, he's probably like Kank – against the entire stereotypes."

Kin scowled. "Everyone has a label. Everyone. It's just how it is." She said, turning back to the front.

Kankurou rolled his eyes. This was why he'd rather not have Gaara follow him through his classes.

* * *

When the assembly was to begin, every single student crammed into the gym. It was a horribly tight fit, and Temari realized that there was no hope of finding her brothers or Neji. 

She scanned the crowds nervously. She figured to search for Gaara, since his head would be the most noticeable in a crowd. She found him sitting alone in a less crowded area. She couldn't tell if Neji or Kankurou was with him, but she decided to at least sit with him.

"Hey." She said upon reaching him. Gaara looked like he was trying not to throw up in such a crowd. "Are you okay? Will the teachers let you sit somewhere calmer because of your claustrophobia?" she asked. In Sunaga, there had been a couple of kind-hearted teachers that allowed Gaara to sit in sparse areas for assemblies.

A teacher scanned the area, trying to find room for more students. Seeing her, Temari called out.

"Um, ma'am!" she shouted above the din.

The woman turned to look at her, with an expression that clearly stated 'Hurry up, I have more important things to attend to.'

"Um…my brother, here, he's claustrophobic. Very claustrophobic. And this environment scares him." she explained shortly, trying to get Gaara out of there as quickly as possible. He looked ready to heave everything in his stomach.

"What do you want us to do about it?" the woman said crossly. Temari gawked.

"He needs to be in a more open area!" she yelled, gesturing to the slight green-tinted boy next to her.

"What's going on up there?" A blonde woman at the bottom yelled up.

The woman sighed. "This girl says her brother's claustrophobic, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked first at Temari, and then Gaara next to her. "Ah, I remember you! Come on down, boy, you can sit with me! I promise you, it's more sparse than it is here." She said motioning for him to go down.

Gaara looked at Temari who nodded. He climbed his way through the students, somehow managing not to throw up. He made it to Tsunade, and she led him to a group of chairs. Iruka was seated in one of these chairs.

"Oh! Hi, Gaara!" he said, cheerfully. "Are you feeling any better from this morning?"

"A l-little…" he managed to stutter, half being nervous of the assembly, and half still feeling sick.

"Gaara here gets extremely claustrophobic. Which won't do well in that crowd." She gestured to the audience. "So, he'll sit with us!"

Gaara felt awfully privileged. Before he could muse on that, the lights went out a group of people walked in, addressing Tsunade.

"Hello! I assume you guys are the ones for the show?" she asked professionally.

One of the boys nodded. "Yeah. We're ready to start whenever you are."

Tsunade nodded, then stood up to quiet the crowds. It took almost five minutes, but she managed to silence them.

"These are a group of individuals from the AAO – Abuse Awareness Organization (Okay, I think that title is horrible. I don't even know if it exists!) here to teach you how to become more aware of child abuse of any kind – physical, emotional, or sexual, and what to do in any situation. The assembly will be for the rest of the school day."

She walked away, nodding to the group. Taking her seat next to Gaara, she crossed her legs.

"Hey, Gaara, you're a cool kid. Why don't you round up three friends and I'll take you out for lunch? There's a break for it, since it's still early."

Gaara stared. No teacher had ever given him special privileges like this before, but he nodded blankly. Was this even legal?

"O..o-okay." He said after a moment. Tsunade nodded.

"Good. Now, pay attention."

The show started out with saying that any parent hitting a child in a way that is above and beyond normal 'punishment' was abuse. Gaara tuned most of this out, but he snapped back to reality when one of the members switched to a different topic.

"Please keep one thing in mind if you are being abused: It is NEVER your fault. Ever. No matter how much it may seem like it was your fault, like you initiated your parents' anger, it is NEVER. YOUR. FAULT."

Gaara's eyes welled up with tears. That's what he always wanted to hear. Kankurou told it to him, and then it struck a cord, and now it struck a cord. Trying not to let his emotion show, he slipped back into a thoughtless daze, tuning out the rest of the happening, afraid to be noticed.

* * *

When the lunch break came, Gaara searched for Temari, who had found Kankurou and Neji. He walked up to the three. 

"Hey, Gaara! I was hoping you'd find somewhere to sit that wouldn't freak you out!" Kankurou said.

Gaara nodded. "Y-yeah…I sat with the principal."

Kankurou's jaw dropped. "DUDE." He said.

Neji shook his head, smiling in amusement. "It's not that rare. She's really good with the kids here."

Gaara nodded. "She said she would take me and three friends to lunch."

"Is that legal?" Temari asked, half worried, half excited.

"Who cares?" Kankurou said, playfully hitting Temari. It was obvious he was horribly grateful for the break and all his tension had become hyperactivity.

"Tsunade-sensei doesn't. Who did you want to go?" Neji asked, thinking he knew the answer.

"Well…you three!" he said, like 'Duh.'

Temari squealed. "Okay!" Together, the foursome walked back over to where Tsunade stood.

"Tsunade-sensei?" Gaara said shyly. "I have the three I wish to take with me…"

"Good! Come on, let's go before people notice!"

Temari, Gaara, and Kankurou expected her to find some sneakish way out of the school, but instead they all just walked out of the front doors, to her silver van.

"Alright, pile in!" She said.

"SHOTGUN!" Kankurou yelled, giddy. Him and Neji fought over it for a second, before Tsunade said that the tallest one got to get shotgun.

Gaara: 5'0"

Temari: 5'5"

Neji: 5'10"

Kankurou: 6'0"

As Kankurou was getting into the vehicle, two other teachers yelled. "Tsunade! I'm sorry about this, but I carpooled with Kakashi today since my car is still at the shop, and his just broke down. Could we ride with you?" Iruka shouted, smiling sheepishly with Kakashi.

New height order.

Gaara: 5'0"

Temari: 5'5"

Neji: 5'10"

Iruka: 5'11"

Kankurou: 6'0"

Kakashi: 6'….1"

Scowling, Kankurou got in the back, folding his arms in a mock pout. He had no idea why he was so energetic, but it was certainly a relief from feeling so tensed all the time.

"So, where're we going?" Kakashi said, completely unfazed by the multitude of high school students in the back.

"…You know what, I don't know." She said, sheepishly. "What do you guys think?"

"McDonalds!"

"Some remote little bar!"

Pause.

"Kakashi, they're under 21."

"…Oh."

"Burger King!"

"Bob Evans!"

"Happy Rose!"

It went on like this for quite a while before they all agreed to go to a little buffet area that Tsunade claimed had such a wide variety, you could eat there every day of your life and have something different every day. Obviously, she was exaggerating, but still.

Kankurou and Temari were sure to make sure Gaara had a good amount of food on his plate before feeding themselves. When they got back to the table, their drinks had arrived.

"Kakashi, don't you dare drink too much alcohol." Iruka warned.

Kakashi waved him off. "We don't have classes the rest of the day!"

Kankurou stared at his homeroom teacher. He knew he was messed up, but this..?

Kakashi turned to him. "Mention this, and fail my class." He said, mock threateningly.

Iruka smacked him. Gaara was shocked at the display of violence. His teacher was sure a hypocrite, considering he was always telling the violent students in class to stop horsing around.

Temari couldn't help but giggle at the horrifically awed expressions on her brothers' faces. Neji had had Iruka last year, and had sucked up to Tsunade, so he already knew that this was normal behavior.

Finally, Tsunade glanced at her watch, and said that they had to go. In the silver van, Kankurou, Temari, and Gaara's tension returned. Neji felt the moods of his friends drop dramatically, but didn't say anything, figuring it wasn't his business just yet.

They got back to the building and in to their seats just as all the students were re-filing into the gymnasium. Kankurou, Temari, and Neji found a seat on the bleachers closer to where Gaara sat, and the show continued.

Gaara tuned most of it out; it was just more explanations of the different types of abuse. The members performed skits for each type of abuse, which most of the audience actually seemed quite amazed by.

* * *

Kankurou's hands clenched and unclenched. He felt the urge to throw up as the members acted out child abuse between a father and his daughter. It was obviously fake, and it didn't portray anything that REALLY happened. What went on at home was far more severe than being hit every so often. 

Panic coursed through him. What if what went on at home was actually far more severe than most cases of abuse? What if THEY were the incorrect ones? Were they? He was so confused. He wanted to get out of here so badly. Glancing at the clock, he read the time and almost sobbed tears of joy. It was 2:20 now, which meant he only had five more minutes.

Kankurou hated being this anxious. It made him feel vulnerable, and he had to be the strong, indifferent one. The one that could support both Gaara and Temari so they could keep on living until they managed to move out. They'd deal with everything else once that happened.

The piercing bell cut through his thoughts, and he jumped to get to his locker quickly. The entire school was going from one place, so this would be hard. He managed to fight his way through the crowd to his locker, noting that Temari, Gaara, and Neji were still in there somewhere. He'd find them once he had his stuff.

All he needed was his book bag, so he grabbed that and walked to Gaara's locker. The boy was shaking slightly. The crowd must have really scared him.

"You all right?" he asked, for the second time that day.

Gaara jumped. "Y-yeah. Just a little jumpy." He said, yanking out his book bag. "Let's go find Temari and Neji."

Kankurou couldn't help but find it ironic that their lockers were so close, but he wasn't complaining. It made things like this a lot easier. Temari and Neji were already done when they got to them, so the four walked out of the building and into the semi-cool outdoors.

"Walk or bus?" Temari asked.

"We're supposed to take the bus…" Neji said, trailing off.

Kankurou snorted. "Screw them. I'm walking. It's a nice day."

Neji stared. He obviously wasn't accustomed to being defiant. "Are you sure? We could get caught!" he exclaimed.

Kankurou grinned. "So? Whatever. I don't think Tsunade will care. Plus, it's closer. And we can explain Gaara's claustrophobia."

Neji understood now. Under that jester's mask, Kankurou was truly worried for his younger brother. "Alright…we can try it." Neji said, slightly reluctant.

"Alright! Let's go! Mission 'dude, the rules suck ass' BEGIN!" He laughed.

Gods, how he loved laughing. He loved the feeling of tension leaving his mind, leaving the euphoria of hyperactivity behind.

AND TA DA! I'm like…uber hyper right now. I'm home alone, have music blasting, and I don't know. I'm just REALLY hyper. Sorry for the wait! ON ANOTHER NOTE. WE'VE HIT 100 REVIEWS! This is a HUGE break for me! WHOOOO!

**

* * *

REVIEW CORNER! **

**Kanky-chan –** It was SUPPOSED to be on MY birthday, but it's on yours instead, Kanky. Homework should burn.RP: You don't do it.

SHUT UP! YES I DO! First date? Neji and Gaara do not admit their love for quiiiiiite a while. Not till after all the bad stuff happens! n.n;;

**Hkokuryuha** – Thanks. Neji shall find out…I don't know how soon, though. See, you'll hafta just wait…:maniacal laughter:

**tiggra **- There's more Neji here! Here's the chapter!

**yoko-san** – Well, Neji thinks about his crush more. Gaara's just worried about not being killed. See, he's at that point where he's just trying to numb himself to everything and everyone. And Neji will heal him of that, eventually. You'll see. GASP! I love mushy Gaara! I swear, that boy really needs a hug! It DOES seem strange to make Sabaku their last name, but if you put aside the fact it means 'desert' it sounds cool, doesn't it? OO;; :blows up for waiting a week to update: Oops, no more updates!

**Dragon Man 180** – Yeah. I kinda pictured that he would. See, part of the thing is that he doesn't HAVE any nice clothing. If you think about it, their father wouldn't like…get them nice clothing. So, yeah. I have seen nine year olds do this. It is very nauseating.

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – Eep for your friend…anorexia is not pretty. I've been claimed anorexic before. I'm not, though. I'm too fat to be anorexic. Any of Neji's family…? You mean like his parents? That'll come in. I have an idea for that. Infatuation is a preeetttyy word. The ShikaTema was horribly amusing to write. It didn't give you an alert? FF.N is faulty like that. A couple of times, I haven't gotten review alerts. TenTen does get too much attention. Bleh to her! Exponents are confuzzling and they shall never make my way into my fic again…but if they do, magically, I'll remember that. Thanks.

**spork-ai** – I KNOW. It is sad! In an ongoing RP my cousin and I are involved with, we have NejiGaa! Ishho cute. I can't wait to start typing it either. You think that'd make me start sooner, but I'm an odd person…I can see it. I think I already have a theme song for it, too…Maybe. I'm horribly sadistic in fanfics. It makes me so sad, but I still do it. ….That's an interesting death for the Kazekage. You know what, it'll be used later. You'll see. FANGIRL SQUEAL! WHOO!

**Midnight-Reflection** - …What was ironic:confused:

**Hurricane-rider** – Oo…Sugar! Drake and Josh is amusing. THAT'S why. Gaara hid it! But, Neji used hindsight and found some marks! Ha. BROTHERLY LOVE IS SHO KYOOT! JUST LIKE ANYTHING THAT MOVES! (Only Kanky-chan will get that…)

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, PEOPLE!**


	13. Asthma

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Ack! Now, with Vindicated being removed, (DAMN YOU FF.N!) I must work extra hard!

Disclaimer: Haven't you figured it out by now?

* * *

By the time they had turned onto Buraudouei, Kankurou's giddiness had dissipated. It wasn't that he was tense again; it didn't appear that their father was home for the moment. This brought relief not only to him, but also to Temari and Gaara, who breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Mou…Is anyone else hungry?" Kankurou asked, his hand over his stomach.

Gaara and Temari stared at him. He had eaten almost two plates at lunch. How was he still hungry?

"…Kankurou. Really, now!" Temari said, placing her hands on her hips like she always did when she was annoyed.

Kankurou let out a laugh. "Joking! Joking!" he said, waving his hands in front of his face. "Jeez…as if I was fat or something!" He walked up to the door and pulled it open, out of habit giving the living room a thorough check to make sure no one was in there.

Giving the thumbs up, he proclaimed he had make-up work that some of his kinder teachers had given him and marched up to his room. Gaara mumbled something akin to the same excuse and went into his own.

Temari was grateful for no homework and glanced at the time. She still had another hour before she would even consider what dinner was, so she sat down and turned on the television.

"-And in other news today, Konoha Broadcasting has the extreme pleasure of interviewing the former political leader, Sabaku Kazekage, who is live with us today!"

Temari stared in disgust. Their father, whom the camera had panned upon, was dressed in a crisp looking business suit, his normally unruly hair combed down. On his face was plastered a fake smile, although Temari was sure she was the only viewer who noticed it.

"Sabaku-san, what do you plan on doing here in Konohagakure now that you're retired?" the perky interviewer asked, looking thoroughly enraptured to be there.

"Well, when I was still working, I never got to spend and time with my three children, and now that I'm here and retired, I figured we could have more time as a family."

Temari snorted loudly. More like more time to keep Gaara 'in check' by beating anything 'bad' out of him!

"Wow! Did you hear that, quite the family man, isn't he?"

Kazekage flashed the camera another sickeningly fake smile. Temari felt herself shaking in rage at how well the man could lie, and how well it went over.

"Now, Sabaku-san, apparently, before you retired, there were rumors that you were abusive, especially towards your youngest son, Gaara. Are those rumors in any remote way true? How were they started?"

Temari swore she saw a quick look of malice, the man she knew at home, before the fake smile returned.

"I do NOT abuse my children. We are really quite the family, and it really distressed me that someone could possibly start the rumor that I would EVER hit them. Especially Gaara. Gaara is…on the weak side. To hurt him would be completely unfair."

Temari lost it.

"OH, YOU SAY THAT NOW! YOU SAY THAT **NOW** YOU BASTARD! AND AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME, YOU'LL JUST KNOCK HIM AROUND LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! STOP LYING, DAMMIT, STOP LYING!" she shrieked in rage, stamping her foot.

* * *

_"OH, YOU SAY THAT NOW! YOU SAY THAT **NOW** YOU BASTARD! AND AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME, YOU'LL JUST KNOCK HIM AROUND LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! STOP LYING, DAMMIT, STOP LYING!"_

Kankurou jumped up from his desk, sprinting to the stairwell. Temari was standing in front of the television, her face beet red, glaring at the electronic entertainment device with such hatred, that if the television were to suddenly not work, he wouldn't be amazed.

"T-temari?" he cried out, shocked and mildly disturbed.

Temari looked up, the rage in her eyes clear as crystal. "WHAT?" She then appeared to see who she was talking to and calmed down some, her face going back to its slightly tanned fleshy color.

"Sorry Kankurou…it's just…" she sighed in frustration. "They're interviewing Dad on T.V. He's lying, Kankurou, absolutely lying!"

Kankurou stared at her. "Temari…he always lies…that's just how it is. That's just how it's always been. Here, I'll watch it with you, so I can figure out just how bad he's lying this time."

Temari nodded and patted a space next to her on the couch. Kankurou plopped down, scowling as soon as he saw the man.

"He's faking that smile." He said simply.

"Yeah…"

The interviewer had moved onto another question, they guessed, and their father was now explaining the events of eleven years ago.

"You see, when Gaara, my youngest, was only a toddler, his ball had rolled out to the street, and being only three he went after it." Temari and Kankurou saw right through the fake sadness his voice was laced with. "My wife, being overprotective of her baby, who had health complications as an infant, which resulted then and results still in severely chronic insomnia."

Kankurou almost stood up and screamed at the television. Instead, he shook his head. "Is the demon supposed to be a family secret? He always calls it a 'health complication since birth'…"

"-She was killed instantly." The man wiped fake tears from his face.

"Ah! Sabaku-san! If the pain is too much, please, you don't have to go any further with this!" the interviewer said, only half enthusiastically, as she was used to celebrity crisis.

Kazekage wiped his eyes. "Oh, I'll be fine. It's all in the past, you see-"

Kankurou wrenched the remote from in between the cushions on the couch and turned off the television, chucking the 'clicker' to the ground in anger, and turning back to his room. "I'm gonna go finish my makeup work and try not to throw up." He said darkly.

* * *

When their father got home, he looked nothing like the image they had seen on the television. His hair had gone back to its unkempt state, and now looked greasy. His tie had been soiled in something or other, and his suit now had several stains and wrinkles in it. Staggering into the living room, he threw one glance at Temari, who was waiting for dinner to finish cooking, and then stumbled upstairs to bed. 

She was surprised he hadn't mentioned his interview. Usually, especially in his drunken stupor, he would brag about the things he did in life. It disgusted Kankurou, and made Gaara feel bad sometimes, but she wasn't so sure how proud of himself he really was. She had read somewhere that you just didn't start a cycle of abuse. It was continuous, starting with one's past, and then becoming daily life that they incorporate into their own lives as parents.

She had never asked about grandparents. Ever. Even when he was still 'the perfect Daddy' to her, grandparents had been such an iffy topic. Whenever she'd bring it up, Daddy would become rigid and tightlipped, whilst her mother did anything to get off the subject.

Maybe that was it. But, she certainly wasn't going to bring it up now. Daddy was gone, leaving the cruel and ruthless man she knew now. She wished she knew. Maybe, if she had known, it would've been all better. And this wouldn't be happening right now.

* * *

The next day at school, Wednesday, was the day when grade cards were sent home in the mail. For one reason or another, all the teachers liked giving their grades to the students before their cards came in the mail. 

Temari was quite well off. She had always done very well in school, and her grades were B's and A's. Her teachers commented that her evaluation was based off of what she had done so far, and that although she had been there hardly a week, it seemed that she was a very good student.

All in all, Temari was pretty happy with it.

Kankurou knew why he was failing, and quite frankly, he didn't really care. Only his math teacher, Sarutobi-sensei (Ish Asuma. Not Sandaime), and his reading teacher, Rei-sensei had given him the makeup work, and Kakashi was a lazy bastard of a teacher who gave him a 'C' anyways. Everything else he had a failing grade in. He really didn't care. He knew that education, the way his life was turning out, wasn't really going to get him anywhere. He'd drop out if his father wouldn't throw a fit.

For some reason, their father didn't care too much about Temari and Kankurou's grades, but always stressed perfection on Gaara. He had been infuriated when he hadn't been inducted into the advanced classes for both high school and jr. high, which had resulted in quite a few temper tantrums.

So, while Kankurou was nonchalant about his failing marks, Gaara was freaking out. His highest grade was a B, in Iruka-sensei's class, and the rest of his teachers, passing off his suspension as a horrible first impression, refused to give him make-up work.

Which meant he basically had a 0 F in some classes.

On the card, it said conference requested. He knew Kankurou's said the same thing, but their father wouldn't care about him. His world studies teacher, Morino-sensei, was the one who would be hosting the conference. While Gaara had technically only been in school for three days, Morino-sensei really didn't like him, and scared Gaara with his harsh gaze.

"Listen, all you gotta do is hide it. I used to all the time." Kankurou explained on their way home. They had skipped the bus again.

"Well…alright…" Gaara said nervously. He had never tried to hide anything before. Terror always stopped him from doing that. But, with some coaxing from Kankurou, he had hidden it deep within the depths of his book bag, and forgot tried to forget about it.

When they walked into the door, they all, for once didn't seem tense about it. They figured if they acted nonchalant about walking into the same room as the man they were terrified of, he wouldn't hit Gaara.

It was a new tactic, but hopefully a successful one.

"HEY! YOU! MONSTER!"

All three stopped dead in their tracks. He had seen them, and he was pissed.

Gaara slowly turned to face him, shaking visibly. "Y-yes…?"

Rage flashed through Kankurou. The fact that Gaara was used to the nickname enough to respond to it made him want to go over there and wring his father's neck.

"GET YER ASS OVER HERE. WHY TH' HELL ARE YER GRADES NOT UP TA MY STAN'RDS?"

Gaara flinched, then his eyes widened in terror. He turned to quickly face Kankurou.

He knew.

At a snail's pace, Gaara tiptoed over to the opposite end of the room, where their father was waiting.

"YER FAILING! AND THEY WANT TA HAVE SOME DAMN CONF'RENCE WIT ME 'BOUT IT! DAMN YOU!" When Gaara had made it over there, he grabbed the small boy by his hair, kneeing him in the stomach.

Since Gaara had eaten of late, which was unnatural, he threw up. All over his offender. This only proved to piss him off further.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" he screamed, Gaara's stomach contents dripping from him. "YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD!"

He turned to Temari and Kankurou, who stayed, their eyes glued to the scene. Temari looked like she was about to cry, while Kankurou's eyes shone with hatred, looking almost identical to his father's.

"YOU TWO. GET TH' FUCK UPSTAIRS! I'LL DEAL WIT THIS BITCH PERS'N'LY!" he screeched, punching Gaara in the face to prove his point.

Temari fled, sobbing freely, up the stairs. Kankurou remained rooted for a moment, before his gaze turned to Gaara and his eyes softened, as if trying to send the message 'I'm sorry' to him, before turning and slowly trudging up the stairs.

"Now, you." Kazekage said, his voice calm, but dripping with malice. That voice scared Gaara the most. When he was screaming, at least he could predict his father's next move, but when he was like this, he couldn't.

Gaara expected to be hit, to be slammed against the wall repeatedly, or something like that. Instead, he was dragged by his hair to the basement, where his father unceremoniously tossed him down the stairs.

"You stupid piece o' SHIT!" he said dangerously, following down rather clumsily, drunk. "School ain't good 'nuff for ya? That ya just decide ta FAIL it? You little shit!" he kicked him, sending the redhead careening into a wall.

Gaara coughed, tasting a metallic substance. Closing his eyes, he curled himself into a ball to try to block the blows.

"HELL NO YOU AIN'T!" Gaara felt his arms wrenched from covering his face as he was forced to stand for a second before being lifted by Kankurou's shirt collar and being slammed against the wall.

"TAKE IT LIKE A MAN, YOU WORTHLESS WHORE!"

SLAM!

Gaara saw stars when his head connected with the stone wall. Another slam, and darkness began to creep forward from the corners of his eyes.

He wasn't held there for too much longer. After another moment of screaming at him and slamming him against the basement wall, Kazekage tossed Gaara across the basement, sending him flying into the washing machine. With a final kick, he was finished, leaving a sputtering Gaara lying in a crumpled heap near the white, metal machine.

* * *

Kankurou waited for the door to slam shut before literally leaping off his bed and sprinting downstairs. Somewhere along the way, probably on the stairs, Temari had caught up with him. 

Making it to the basement door, Kankurou wrenched it open and skipped four steps at a time getting down the steep staircase. Temari, not taking as many at a time, was right behind him, with a first-aid kit she must have grabbed.

"K-kanku…rou?" The hoarse whisper came from the washing machine and dryer. Kankurou ran over, kneeling in front of the crumpled figure.

"Yeah…I'm right here. Do you think anything's broken?" He had heard the yelling, and some banging from the basement, and hoped it didn't result in any broken bones or fractures.

"K-kankurou…I c…can't b-breathe…" he choked out.

In alarm, Kankurou saw his chest was rising and falling rapidly, but it didn't look like Gaara was getting any air into his system.

"Can't breathe? At all?" he asked, voice cracking in panic.

Gaara shook his head slightly. Temari flicked on a light from where she stood, and he could see the smaller boy's face was turning blue from lack of oxygen.

"Temari?" he called out.

"I don't know! Um…maybe…" She coughed suddenly, and then cleared her throat. "Sorry, asthma."

Asthma.

A light bulb went off in Kankurou's head. "Temari, do you have an inhaler somewhere?" he asked.

"Uh…yeah!" she said, sprinting up the stairs.

"Hold on, Gaara, okay? You'll be able to breathe soon…" he assured him. Gaara's frame began shaking violently, trying to force some air into his system. Kankurou, unable to take watching him like that, scooped him up gently, holding him close to his chest, willing Temari to hurry up with the inhaler.

* * *

Ack! Sorry it's short, and I'm sorry that it took so long to get such a short chapter out! My dad is a jerk, and has decided to assign a computer schedule on weekdays. I get two and a half hours a day, then, and my dad was home most of this week, which made typing the chapter hard. So…yeah. I'll try to get more done on the weekends from now on. 

**REVIEW CORNER!**

**Shivawn** – GASP! Another DDR fan! Yay! I love DDR. I'm on standard/heavy at the moment, leaning more towards the heavy. I've been playing it for…a year, give or take. I love it. Gaara Child Abuse is getting more common, too! My sadistic mind loves the topic. He is cute stuttering…Here's the update!

**Yoko-san** – I like mushy Gaara anywhere. He needs a hug very badly. Neji kind of suspects it more now, but he's afraid to say anything just yet. Neji has his reasons! YOU SHALL SEE! I dono. Gaara's just…Gaara. Not really emo. Kin's just odd. ….What made you think Gaara would be seme in the first place? ;P He is DEFINITELY uke in this story. I lubb Gaara-uke.

**Kanky-chan** – Assemblies in general are annoying. Ugh. The day after I posted the last chapter, we had an assembly. And you know how people swing their knees together and apart? Well, some person behind me was doing that, so he was like…doing weird things to my back. And he wouldn't stop. And I think he realized it half-way through, because it began to feel REALLY deliberate. I was scared! T.T :shifty eyes: Maaayyybeee some KakaIru!

**narroch06** – ACK! I just realized I didn't respond to your last review! I'M SO SORRY! I didn't mean to skip over it! To the one for the 11th Chapter – Making people feel warm and fuzzy is my goal with reviews! I never flame. I try to make people feel as good about it as possible. The entire series by David Pelzer is very sad. I cried at least once during all three of them. Child abusers should die…GASP! YOU LIVE IN OHIO! HOLY EFFIN FIZZLE, I LIVE IN OHIO TOO! Please, do tell what city! I need to go paw paw hunting now…I don't think there are any paw paw forests in Toledo though…:sniff: I lubb you, Toledo, you have good people, BUT YOU SUCK! For the 12th Chapter – Euphoric is a pretty word. I like it. There be nothing wrong with insanity! Where do you think the bus rides came from? Fun for chilidogs! I don't eat chilidogs, I'm a vegetarian, but still! It would be so cool if you lived by me!

**Burning tree** - …It IS always a girl. I never thought about that!

**tiggra** - They are both sezzy beasts.

**Dragon Man 180** – Yeah. I wish Tsunade was my principal! My principal is okay…I guess. Once, she threatened to give my entire lunch table BIC (In school suspension. Very boring.) because of a mess left there by the lunch period before us. I freaked out! Shukaku was probably PMSing…He should like Kanky though!

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – Hm…Really? I'll remember that tip for later. I don't know, my formatting is very much influenced by how much FF.N I've read since coming here at the mere age of 8. Pills are the creation of the devil. So is cough syrup…Poor KnO and her balloon. Go being amused! I can try to make them nicer, but at the moment, they're like 'Eww! He got suspended!'. Yeah, some people actually get like that. They took it as a first impression. Erm…I did mean 'chord'. I'm…I don't know. Thanks for that though. If I ever redo that chapter, I'll put it in. Tsunade is an awesome principal. Poor you with the experience! Once, I had gotten sent to the office because of this misunderstanding thing in school (It was a LONG story, and I was sitting in one of the chairs) and all my teachers passed me, and they were like 'Oh! Don't worry, everything will be fine!" 'cause I was about to cry, being that good girl little student, and the secretary got mad at me for 'telling my sob story to everyone that passed'. I was like '…….'. As for your counselor. Uhh…Odd counselor you have. Mine is very humorous. I like her. Gaara's just very short. I liked the restaurant part. It's amusing.

**thefuturefreaksmeout **– He is cute and huggable! KAWAIIII! I will keep your Kazekage death wish in mind. You'll see, you'll see…I'm glad you like this!

**Hurricane-rider** – Sometimes you watch the assembly xD Sorry. That amused me. Ha! Finally, I am ahead of Vindicated! But it's for a bad reason:sob: I feel happy to finally be ahead though. o.o


	14. Talking With a Demon is Fruitless

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Hee…Kinda left a cliffhanger last chapter. Figured to start the new one early.

**Special note:** Flashbacks will from now on be just italicized passages. Just so I don't confuse anyone…ALSO! Dear reviewers who I talk to online want credit. (Yes, I KNOW it was a joke. But SO IS LIFE!)

Disclaimer: …Why do I still put these up?

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

To Kankurou, it seemed like Temari had taken hours finding the inhaler and bringing it down. By that time, Gaara was near having a seizure. He himself had shed a few tears, almost convinced that this was the end. 

In truth, it had only been hardly over a minute before Temari zoomed back down the staircase, an inhaler clutched in her shaking hand. She brought it to the small boy's lips doing something that Kankurou wasn't paying attention to. (Sorry, I don't have asthma. I don't really know how inhalers work…) All he cared about was a moment later when Gaara began coughing. Kankurou sat him up in his arms, patting his back some.

He didn't stop until a moment later, when Gaara coughed up some mucus. He sighed, pulling the redhead close.

"Are you okay?"

"I…think…" Gaara answered quietly, trying to regain control of his breathing.

"You really scared me. I never knew you had asthma."

"I didn't think I did!"

"Alright, alright. Will the demon let you sleep?" Gaara needed it. Very badly, as far as Kankurou was concerned. He didn't care how much the younger boy had slept in a week.

"I don't know…he's not happy…" came the whisper.

Kankurou sighed. He couldn't very well force Gaara into sleeping, so he instead stood up with the redhead in his arms, noting again that it was eerily effortless to carry him up the stairs and back into the living room, where he sat on the couch.

Looking back to see if Temari had followed him, he heard her voice from the bedrooms, calling that she was calling it a night early.

Gaara mumbled something. Kankurou looked down, a small smile on his face. "What was that?"

"You make a good pillow…" the mumble wasn't any better than it's predecessor, but Kankurou heard it this time.

"Does that mean you're going to sleep?" he asked, slightly amused.

"…Maybe." Gaara said reluctantly.

"Go ahead and try. That thing wouldn't hurt me." Kankurou said confidently. In truth, he wasn't so sure about that, but whatever got Gaara to rest would work.

The redhead shifted some in his lap. "Mm…okay…" he said after a while, falling back against his chest.

Kankurou smiled. That was better. He leaned back against the couch, watching Gaara's breathing even out completely. When he knew the smaller boy was asleep, he picked up the remote control from beside them and turned on the television, being sure to keep the volume on the low side.

He didn't know how long he had been watching TV when Gaara suddenly whimpered. Looking down, he contemplated whether to wake the boy, or keep watching and make sure it wasn't a nightmare.

Before he could make his decision, two gleaming yellow eyes opened, staring at him. Terror seized Kankurou's senses. He knew what those eyes meant. He hardly ever saw them, but he knew what they meant. And he didn't enjoy the very rare occasion of seeing them.

"Y-you! Let him sleep peacefully!" he shouted before thinking.

"Hm? I let that human get away with far too much sleep. I need to kill something." The voice didn't sound like Gaara. Gaara's voice wasn't that deep or clear. He tended to mumble and stutter a lot.

"No, you don't." It hadn't quite clicked that in his lap sat a very potent creature. To him, it was still Gaara; after all, it looked like him. Even if the voice was different, the form in front of him was his baby brother, and no damned demon was ever going to change that.

"And who are you to decide that for me, human?" the voice spat at him. Those yellow eyes looked very hungry. Kankurou was beginning to reconsider whether or not talking back was going to get him everywhere. People had told him his mouth would be his bane.

"Well, I'm Gaara's brother. And you're in Gaara's body. Therefore, I shall treat you as I would treat him in the same situation." He decided to keep this up for a while. If things got dangerous, he'd duck out and let the monster have its way, but for now, he'd rather spare Gaara another beating.

"Hn. That means nothing to me. 'Gaara' and I are two separate people. I happen to possess his physical form, but we are two very separate people."

"Well, then I'm afraid I'll have to protect Gaara's body, then." By now, Kankurou had gone giddy with nervousness. He wasn't really thinking about his words.

"What are you, his father?" snapped the yellow-eyed boy.

Those words snapped Kankurou back to reality. "No. I am NOT my father. I never WILL be my father." He said shortly.

"Really now?" Shukaku had decided that if he couldn't reek havoc upon the village, he would instead torment Kankurou. "You know, you have his eyes. You have his glare."

Kankurou had heard this before. A lot of people had told him how much he looked like his father. It made him sick. "I don't care what I've physically inherited from him. I will never be like him."

"They say victims of child-abuse only continue the cycle as adults. Upon anyone, not just children." The demon stated, grinning.

Kankurou flinched. He knew this also. "Well…I won't let it. I refuse to turn out like him!"

"Funny, word has it your father said the same thing. He lasted what…six years into being a parent?"

"SHUT UP!" Kankurou yelled, standing up suddenly. He forgot that it was Gaara's body. All he saw were those eyes, mocking him.

* * *

When Shukaku landed, he felt the other part of him begin to wake. When Kankurou screamed, he knew he had missed his chance. Releasing his hold on Gaara's subconscious, he closed his eyes, allowing the host to regain control. 

Gaara fell back again before he whimpered, reopening his eyes. He saw Kankurou looming over him, looking angry and afraid. Instinct told him that Kankurou was angry with HIM, so he closed his eyes to block out the familiar gaze.

Now that he thought about it, where did he see that gaze? That glare, that stare? (A/N: I be such a poet.) It looked so familiar, but for some reason, he could never place it. His mind always labeled it as 'Kankurou', but there was something that reminded him of fear. Something that reminded him of pain.

Deep inside, he knew what it reminded him of. But he refused to come into terms that both he and Kankurou had inherited anything from their father. This denial had kept him afloat somewhat in his own little world. In his own world, the conclusion was always 'I'm nothing like him and I never will be.' It was the only reason he hadn't just allowed the demon to consume him, and kill off any remains of 'Sabaku Gaara'.

* * *

Reopening his eyes, he saw that Kankurou's gaze had begun to soften. "D-did…did the demon come out?" he asked softly, his voice painfully small. 

Kankurou snapped out of it when Gaara's eyes reopened. Once again, those emotionless jade orbs stared at him. When a look of fear and sadness washed over them, Kankurou knew he had scared the boy, and tried to calm down.

"D-did…did the demon come out?" Gaara sounded afraid, like he was going to get in trouble.

"Well…" he thought about lying to him so Gaara wouldn't become upset, but lies just made everything worse. "He did, but you didn't kill anyone."

Gaara looked surprised. "He didn't?"

"Well, I had to kind of restrain him…and that's why you're on the floor. Did I hurt you?" His voice, usually devoid of anything except for mild annoyance or disgust sounded concerned.

Gaara shook his head. His rear end was slightly sore from his landing, but he'd be fine. He'd had worse. Much, much worse. "I'm fine. Are you hungry?"

Kankurou blinked at the subject change. What time was it? He glanced at the cable box, which read 11:45. He had been watching TV for quite a while. "Yeah, a little. I'll make something. What do you want?" Helping the redhead to his feet, they started towards the kitchen.

"What do we have?" was the simple answer. That was actually a good question, considering no one had bothered to go grocery shopping since they had been in Konoha. All he could find were two packs of instant ramen, but they had both been opened and mold was beginning to grow.

"This is insane! Who opens ramen and then put it back?" Kankurou exclaimed angrily, throwing the ramen out.

"Well…we have…uhh…" Gaara tried to think. He was really was famished, but he didn't want to tell Kankurou when he had last eaten.

"Well…how hungry are you?" Kankurou seemed to sense the desperation in his voice. "We could walk to some place and get something."

Gaara shook his head. Hoping his stomach wasn't very loud, he answered. "Well…I'll be fine 'till morning…"

Kankurou gave him a skeptical look. "When did you last eat?"

"…" Gaara wasn't sure if answering that was the best idea.

"Gaara…" Kankurou said slowly. When the boy still didn't answer, he sighed. "Alright. Grab your shoes and a jacket."

"Shoes and jacket for what?" Both boys turned. In the entrance of the kitchen stood Temari, still in her pajamas. Her blonde hair was mussed from sleep and puffed out in odd angles.

"Well, there's nothing to eat, so Gaara and I are going out to get something. You wanna come?" There was no point in convincing the older girl to stay behind; she hadn't had dinner either.

"Sure, lemme just get on socks." She disappeared back up the stairs again.

Kankurou sighed. What an interesting family outing: Finding the closest place in walking distance to eat in order not to starve. Wonderful. He'd make it a point to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Or he could ask Temari to do it; she was better at that type of thing.

"Mou…Kankurou?"

Gaara's voice snapped Kankurou out of his thoughts. He looked down at the boy, signifying for him to continue.

"Did…the demon say anything to you…?"

Kankurou considered whether or not to tell him. He thought Gaara might get a little bit upset to know how taunting and almost violent the situation had become.

"…Yeah…." He said after a long while. "Why?"

"Well…he keeps talkin' 'bout stuff that he never used to…" Gaara trailed off, returning his gaze to floor.

Kankurou scowled. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know shit. We will NEVER, and I repeat **NEVER **turn out like him. Okay?"

Gaara nodded slightly in agreement, bringing his gaze up a little.

Just then, Temari came back down the stairs, now clad in socks, and went to go grab her shoes. Kankurou and Gaara followed to go get their own, and they set out on a quest for a store open 24/7.

* * *

They had made it to the mini-plaza a little bit from their house, right by an elementary school (um…it's really not a mini-plaza. But, at the same time, it like…is. It's a group of stores all across the street from each other, and only AnimeGirl189 will know what the hell I'm talking about because I'm making it like my city because I'm effin LAZY.) when they saw that none of the stores, (:has to think about the order of stores since she doesn't go to them all:) a photography place, a barber shop, a jewelry store, a fashion store, a bakery, an ice cream shop, a general market, and a candy shop, were all closed. 

"Bull. Shit." Kankurou said. "No fucking way. We're gonna have to walk all the way to Kroger's."

* * *

AND I END IT THERE! I'm SO sorry it's so short, and I'm actually not quite that happy with the length, but if I don't stop it here, I don't know where I'll end up stopping it! So…yeah. I'm gonna start working on the 15th as soon as I post this, though, so yeah. This has been late because my dad has been home, and my lack of sleeping pattern is at the moment out to get me. So…yeah! 

**REVIEWS!**

**13nmsdude** – Ha ha. Even though you've only read the first chapter so far, I CONVINCED YOU TO READ IT! You seriously have no friggen idea how yaoi-fanboys are the most uncommon thing ever. KEEP READING!

**littleanikaze –** I know! I torture Gaara so much! It seems like asthma would suck. My little cousin has it really bad. Gaara's attack was more an off-hand thing from being thrown around, since I've heard trauma can trigger an attack, and then the basement was dusty.

**Kanky-chan** – It will happen. I told you how on the phone last night! It was GOD?

RP: TYPO, DUMBASS!

NO! LET ME BELIEVE IT WAS GOD! This one is really short too. Damn. Yes, the schedule is like…never in affect if my dad isn't home. But he has been. So poop. I will write more! I'm in a writer's storm, so I'll be typing a lot for the next chapter after posting this. You haven't been on lately to talk to e.e. So you can't really be restraining. Plus, I explained how talking to people gives me inspiration. Like for the entire next project.

**Yoko-san** – He is NOT always uke! Just in the ring of stories I'm reading! Most Gaara-yaoi fics have him as seme, and I really think he fits better as an uke. Yes! He can be really feminine, methinks… **_your _**Gaara? You does not own Gaara! Wahh! Kanky does! But yay for the Kazekage death wish. You'll see how that all works out. He's been retired for this entire fic. Yeah, that means the abuse is probably worse than it was in Sunaga. Um, Gaara's reason for Shukaku here is because in the beginning, the Kazekage wanted to save his third unborn child, and it was the only way he would've lived. No one knew about the side-effects at that point. Naruto does not have Kyuubi.

**Mystical Moonstar** – DUDE! Love your name! This is sad…I should like…put a tearjerker warning in the summary. You know what? I think I will! This wasn't very soon, but oh well.

Weevil Belongs to Rex – He can breathe now! And the fresh-air from the outdoors should help. He isn't fit to be a father! I should have an explanation as to why…eventually. Oh, I know where I'll put it!

RP: You're rambling.

Oh, sorry.

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut **– I thought it was short. And this one is short too. I'm sure everyone wants to kill the Kazekage. It will end happy! I'd bawl if I ended it sad! Kankurou the pro-wrestler….hm….I kind of like that! Imaginations are good little things. No problem for keeping you occupied. Fanfiction does that to me too.

**Dragon Man 180** – HAHAHAHA! FOMCROFLMFAO! (Falling out of my chair rolling on the floor laughing my fucking ass off) I like that death:writes death down: Um, because Kanky and Gaara were suspended, the teachers didn't have to give them make-up work at all. You're really lucky if you get it. Tsunade probably couldn't do much about it, sadly.

**Fantastical Queen Ebony Black** – Yeth! It's being reposted:sparkle: Yay! I well-did a Temari bit! I should add more of those. I think I'm gonna end up having more KankyGaa brotherly stuff than NejiGaa. That's really sad. Gaara's dad IS a bastard…Was it really that powerful? I didn't really think so. I'd have to re-read it. Yeah, I usually don't like doing the abuse scenes. I'd rather go up to Temari and Kankurou, but I haven't added too many of them, so I thought it might be a good idea to. That's horrible being new. I was new in 3rd grade, but because it was 3rd grade, everyone knew that I was coming 'n stuff. That's horrible that people still don't know you go there.

**Hurricane-rider** – Whoooooa. My chapters have interesting effects on you:takes notes: We all hate him, we all hate him. Wow…poor poor Ken doll. OH WELL! HE IS THE KAZEKAGE, THEREFORE, HE SHALL BURN! Gaara couldn't breathe 'cause of asthma. But he can now. Yes, that is bad.


	15. Uh at a loss for title

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Argh. FF.N is being a jerk and won't let me upload the 14th chapter, so instead I have started the 15th!

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now, you're stupid.

* * *

Kroger was a large grocery store that was known to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The only thing is, it wasn't too close to where the Sabaku family lived. Therefore, it was quite a long walk to get there, and by that time, Gaara was out of breath. 

"Is it really worth this much for food?" Kankurou asked, frowning.

"I suppose it IS a bit extreme. Who has the money?" Temari answered. She would seriously kill something if the money was nowhere to be found.

Kankurou dug around in his pockets. "I got 20 bucks. That should be enough for a decent sized meal."

Gaara nodded, and they walked to the entrance of the blue building. Because it was now just past midnight, the store was almost completely devoid of customers. It gave the normally bustling building a very eerie look to it, but the three starving siblings weren't fazed in any way. They decided to go to a café part of the store, where they knew they'd get a decent meal. They had decided actual grocery shopping could wait for a while.

"Mm…they have coffee, Gaara!" Kankurou exclaimed, quietly. He drank coffee to ease his skyrocketing nerves while Gaara drank it to sometime make it through the day with the demon within him. Temari found it rather repulsive, but she didn't have too many sleep or nerve problems, being one to put all that aside for the sake of her two younger siblings.

They looked at all the food choices. Large cakes, muffins, cookies, it was beautiful.

'If this was an anime…' Kankurou thought dreamily. 'Our stomachs would be very audible.'

Suddenly, a loud grumble ripped through the air around the three siblings. Blushing crimson, Gaara looked away. Kankurou blinked, praised his intuition, and then turned to the person at the stand, who was giving them an odd look.

"Uh…sorry about that, sir…"

* * *

It had taken approximately five minutes to order their food and get it, and now Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara were wandering around the empty building. It was mildly terrifying how vacant it was. Their footsteps echoed against the cold tile. 

For some reason, no matter what time of the year it was, grocery stores were air-conditioned. (I THINK that's true…I can't remember. Let's just say it is to preserve freshness.) As they wandered around, Temari and Kankurou were okay with the temperature, but Gaara, much smaller and with a lot less body fat (Not to say Temari and Kankurou are fat!) was shaking like a leaf, even when he pulled Kankurou's old jacket around him.

It was Temari who noticed first. "Gaara? Are you okay?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

Gaara's conscious started up again. Or the demon. He figured that they were the same thing, nowadays.

**She's worried about you. Who needs to be worried about a whelp like you? Remember…you killed your mother.**

Gaara clenched his eyes shut, stopping completely. His head was beginning to ache.

Kankurou turned to face him. "Gaara…?" he tried not to let the worry show. He knew Gaara hated that. "Gaara? Can you hear me?"

He could. He could hear them. But the voice was louder, consuming him. Letting out a whimper, his shaking increased slightly, and he let a half-eaten donut fall to the cold floor.

Concerned, Temari reached out to place a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. He instinctively flinched away from her, clutching his head.

Kankurou walked up to them both, his mouth set in a grim line. "Gaara…" he said, softly. His voice betrayed the mask he wore. "Gaara, c'mere, I'll give you a piggy back, okay? Old time's sake?" he tried not to make it sound like he wasn't too concerned, and breathed a sigh of relief when Gaara nodded slightly.

He had to bend over rather far so the foot-shorter boy could hop onto his back. Hooking his hand beneath Gaara's knees, he almost dropped him when he could feel individual bones beneath his fingertips. Shuddering slightly, he stood up straight, and attracting stares from workers in the store, stalked back outside with Temari trailing behind.

* * *

The next morning, Kankurou woke up and had to wonder what day of the week it was. He always kept losing track, not really paying attention in school, and not really needing to pay attention at home. 

"It's…Thursday." Temari said, after a moment of thought herself. "Wait…Thursday! That means yesterday was Wednesday! I completely forgot about pep club!" She cried.

"No, that's not the only thing. Dad was HOME yesterday! He shouldn't have been! None of that should've happened!" Kankurou proclaimed. Although he had only managed three hours of sleep after their midnight journey, he was now completely awake.

Temari bit her lip. "I don't get it…why? It doesn't make sense…" she placed her head in her hands. "Why can't he be predictable? Why? Why us? Why Gaara? Why everything!" she sobbed.

Kankurou fidgeted nervously, unsure how to react. He wanted to comfort her…but he didn't want to be emotional. Being emotional would just cause more pain.

"Temari…" he ventured. "Temari…I…" he didn't know what to say.

Just then, Gaara came down the stairs. He hadn't slept last night, if Kankurou recalled correctly, but had rather huddled in a ball in his room as soon as Kankurou let him down from his back. Temari pulled a toaster strudel from the toaster and gave it to him.

"Not hungry…" Gaara rubbed his eyes. His voice was smaller than usual, and he was exhausted. The demon had continued to plague him throughout the night, and while this excuse was half true, he had been thoroughly convinced that he was unworthy of Temari's kindness.

"Gaara, please eat something." Temari said, firmly. "Even if you're not hungry…food gives you energy and I hate to sound like a nagger, but you can't afford to skip meals." She forced a smile, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Gaara didn't return the smile, but did begin to nibble on one corner of his breakfast. This seemed to please Temari enough and she went back to bustling around the kitchen.

**Hm, she reminds me of your mother. Will you end up killing her too?**

Gaara paused in his eating, eyes widening.

'SHUT UP! I…I won't listen to you anymore!' he cried at the demon, mental voice wavering. All he got in return was some laughing.

He now felt like he was going to throw up if he ate, so he set the toaster strudel back onto the plate and slouched in his chair. Kankurou noticed the drop in mood and scooted his chair a little closer to where Gaara sat.

"You know, you should eat a little bit more." He said, looking at him.

"I feel like I'm gon- like I'm not hungry." Gaara was about to tell him he felt the urge to barf, but decided against it, in case Kankurou would worry. Kankurou gave him a look, but didn't push the situation any further.

When he finished and Temari finished cleaning the kitchen, they all grabbed shoes, jackets, and book bags and headed out the door. Kankurou took the chance to check over Gaara to see if anything suspicious was showing.

There was a large bruise at the back of his head, he knew, but you couldn't really see it since his hair covered it. There were a couple bruises on his face, one on his temple and one under his eye, but with any luck, no one would ask. There were probably a lot more under his shirt and pants, but no one would see those and he wasn't limping…. too badly.

He sighed. No one would notice, probably. Maybe Neji, but…he'd find some excuse if Neji asked. He always did.

* * *

Have you ever heard that how you wake up will reflect your mood for the day? Well, you probably haven't. I made that up. Anyways. The first thing Neji said that morning upon waking up and looking at his alarm clock was "Oh Shit.". 

His alarm clock read 7:05 and school started at 7:45. Which meant he had to get out of the house. FAST. Jumping out of bed (quite literally), he tripped over some sheets that had scattered around his bed. When he walked over to his dresser to grab some clothing, not only did he keep losing his balance but he also found that he kept opening the wrong drawers and losing track of what he was doing. Frustrated, his stood in the dark for a moment, regaining control, then sifted through piles of clothing and found something to wear.

He emerged from the bathroom 20 minutes later unshowered, but suitable for school. Skipping breakfast, he grabbed his wallet and left without even saying good-bye.

At the school-grounds, he bumped into quite a few people. This normally didn't faze him, but he had been having a bad day so far, and he blew up at quite a few. Spotting Gaara and his siblings (he could usually pick out that blood-red hair in any crowd) he made his way over, careful to compose himself. Gaara seemed like the skittish one to be afraid if he were to be moody.

"Hi, Neji." Kankurou greeted. Neji noticed that his smile looked strained and bags under his eyes signified little or no sleep.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, slightly concerned by the usually nonchalant boy's appearance.

Kankurou's mask cracked for a second, showing some surprise, but he quickly put up another smile, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well last night." He said, hoping to convince the younger boy.

Neji wasn't thoroughly convinced, but he wasn't especially concerned or suspicious until he saw Gaara's face.

"Hey there! Whoa…what happened?" he asked before he could catch himself.

Normally, someone would either tell them with a hint of humiliation, humor, annoyance, or SOMETHING to their voice, or shrug it off. Gaara did neither. The boy jumped, his eyes widening in alarm, stammering for an excuse.

"I-I u-uh…I…r-ran into a w-wall!" he said, as if trying to convince this to himself more than Neji.

Neji frowned. This brought back painful memories. Very painful memories. He really wanted to know what was going on here. While normally he would've stayed patient about the entire thing, his mood of the day intervened.

"Bullshit. You're stuttering. Please, Gaara, tell me what happened." He asked, a hint of annoyance evident.

"N-n-n-nothing!" the younger boy managed, ducking behind Kankurou.

Kankurou scowled at the raven-haired teen. "He's fine, really." He said. Neji saw through that, too. "Leave him alone." Kankurou added with a growl.

Neji frowned. "Something's up, and I wanna know what." He said shortly. He could see Gaara trembling behind Kankurou's broader features, which hid him almost completely.

"NOTHING'S WRONG! I'M ABSOLUTELY FINE!" Gaara shouted, his voice cracking. Pulling himself away from Kankurou, the redhead ran in the opposite direction. Neji could see a slight limp in his step when he ran, bursting through crowds towards the building.

Kankurou turned to him, shocked at Gaara's outburst. "What the fuck? I SAID to leave him alone! It's none of your business!" With those words, Kankurou stormed off after Gaara.

Neji sighed. He thought he had a pretty good idea of what was going on now. Turning, he noticed that some heads had turned to stare at him, Gaara, or Kankurou and cursed himself before walking in the direction of the picnic table.

* * *

Temari decided that she wasn't really scoping out that boy from before. Really, she wasn't. She was just walking aimlessly by the trees, looking down. When she saw the boy lying against the tree, she skipped over, plastering a smile onto her face. 

"Hi there!" she said.

"Nn…go AWAY, Ino…" Shikamaru said through a yawn, swatting air away.

Temari frowned. "Hey. Who's Ino?"

The black haired boy opened his eyes, frowning at the bright sunlight. "Huh? Oh. Not you. What do you want?"

Scowling, the blonde kicked him gently in the side. "You're a really rude boy. I just came to say 'hi'!" And with that, she walked away.

* * *

In the few minutes before class, Neji decided that instead of talk to his friends or doodle, he would think today. His friends, knowing he needed space when he got like this and ignored them, backed off, leaving the raven-haired teen to his thoughts. 

'Why did I yell at him like that…? I think I really scared him…I hope I didn't scare him…It's just…I remember my own parents. Before…before Mom died and left me…with him.' he shook his head, trying to banish the thoughts. 'It's over. It's all in the past, and he can't hit me anymore. So…why do I see myself reflected in him…?'

He tried to shake off his poetic mood, but he soon gave up, knowing that it came with the bad day he had been having since waking up. He could only hope it wouldn't plague him throughout the day.

* * *

Gaara had felt bad at lashing out at Neji. Really, the older boy just wanted to help…But, at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why Neji wanted to know so much. He had an unnerving feeling that the older boy was getting rather close to figuring everything out. 

And if he figured it out…he didn't even want to think about what his father would do to him if Neji figured it out. Figured out just what happened at home. Death was almost certain. So…did that mean he couldn't be friends with Neji? Were they ever friends in the first place? He really didn't know.

He felt a presence near him, and glanced up to meet the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. He chose not to say anything to the popular boy, and instead looked back down, ignoring him completely.

Apparently, the taller boy didn't like that. "Hey." He said, but it sounded more like a growl.

Slowly, Gaara turned his gaze away from the numerous markings on the desk and back up at Sasuke. He still didn't say anything, but blinked to acknowledge him.

"Y'know…you do a lot of hiding." Sasuke said simply.

Gaara blinked, then put up a look of confusion. He decided that if he talked, he might stutter, and stuttering always alerted people to when he lied.

"And not a lot of explaining." The raven-haired teen continued, getting closer.

"Well…I'm really not hi-hiding anything…" Gaara said slowly. He knew if Kankurou had been there, he would've praised him for the lack of stutter in his voice.

"Pfft. Really? Then explain why you won't answer anyone's questions."

"B-because…it's none of their business."

"Hiding." Sasuke sneered.

"N-no…" Gaara tried to protest, but it was true that he was hiding.

"Yeah, you're hiding, and you've taken my place as the enigmatic bastard of the place. I don't like that."

Gaara stared at him. Was he really that shallow? "Mou…I'm sorry if I am…I don't try to…" he mumbled quietly. He didn't realize it, but now because Sasuke was over there, all heads were turned in his direction.

A silence washed over them, and then the class giggled. Gaara blinked and turned towards them, then back at Sasuke in confusion. To his amazement, the taller boy looked like he was going to bust out laughing any moment.

"…Oro?"

As soon as the question left his mouth, the class, including Sasuke roared with laughter. Gaara flushed almost as deep as his hair and sank as low into the seat as he could.

Sasuke playfully punched him in the shoulder, and didn't even notice the redhead flinch, wince, and grasp the injured spot. "We're just joking! Jeez, you take everything so seriously!"

Maybe that was true. But he had every right and reason to. Humor hadn't really been incorporated into his life, and he didn't find Sasuke's little joke very funny at all. He kept slouched in his seat for the rest of the class, not saying another word.

* * *

Gaara, Gym

* * *

Gaara decided he officially hated gym. In the locker room, none other than Uzumaki Naruto had decided to burst in on him changing, which involved him seeing multiple bruises, and the shorts showed off his very much mutilated looking leg. 

"Holy crap, Gaara! Do you like…get into fights?" the blonde asked. He had been persisting since he had seen the still yellowish bruise on his stomach, and Gaara was nearly fed up with ignoring him.

"I'm…fine…y-yeah…it was a fight." He said slowly, taking extra care not to stutter.

It was then that Genma came up to him. "Hey there Gaara!" he greeted. "Oh, my! What happened to your leg?" he asked, alarmed.

"I-it's nothing. I…uh…I…"

"He got into a fight." Naruto supplied for him.

Genma gave the redhead a suspicious look, but didn't push it. "Do you wanna sit out? Because…that really looks bad. I think we should have the nurse take a look, okay?"

Gaara paled some. Nurses were bad. "Uh…I think I'll be alright. It's just…really bruised."

"It's just really black and blue and horribly swollen! Can't you see the difference between them in size? Your left shin is almost twice the size as your right!"

Gaara knew the gym teacher was exaggerating. Looking down, he saw how swollen it was, but he didn't think it was that bad. "I'll be okay…really." He tried to sound reassuring, but as he tried to walk away, the limp caught Genma's attention.

"No…I want you to see the nurse. Naruto, care to accompany him?"

Before Gaara could protest, someone scooped him up. Unlike with Neji, Gaara freaked out, trying to twist his way out of the offender's arms.

"Dude, relax!" Naruto's voice came. Gaara looked up into the face of the blonde.

"Please, Gaara. I really don't want you walking on it until the nurse checks it out." Genma said soothingly. He remembered somewhere in Gaara's file stated that he was acutely claustrophobic, mildly sociophobic, mildly haphephobic, and mildly ophthalmophobic. (Hee…I'll explain those terms now. Claustrophobic – being afraid of confined spaces, Sociophibic – being afraid of society or people in general, Haphephobic – being afraid of being touched, Ophthalmophobic – fear of being stared at)

Gaara sighed, then calmed down some, swinging his right leg a little. Pleased, Naruto carried him out of the gym to the nurse's office.

* * *

Kankurou loved the hallways best when they were empty. No one was yelling or screaming, and especially when the teacher trusted him enough to not give him a hall pass, he felt like he was intruding, breaking the rules. 

He loved that feeling. Because he knew he was getting away with it.

He had just been on his way to the bathroom when an odd sight crossed his retinas. In the distance, way down the hallway by the entrance to the gymnasium, some blonde was carrying a redhead.

Wait. Double take. Redhead?

Gaara!

Jogging ahead, he saw that Gaara did NOT look in the slightest way comfortable.

"Gaara? Are you alright?"

It appeared that Gaara had just noticed him by the way he snapped and turned his gaze to the brunette. "Oh, Kankurou, please make him lemme go!" was the frantic cry. Gaara was really squirming from the blonde's grasp, and it looked like he was freaking out. Probably his haphephobia.

"Ne, ne! Gaara-kun, Genma-sensei doesn't want you walking!"

"Then I'd rather have Nii-chan carry me!"

This brought Kankurou to complete alert. Gaara only used the term 'Nii-chan' when he was extremely freaked out. "Yeah, I'll take him. Where's he going and why?"

The blonde looked pouty and handed over the lightweight redhead, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Genma-sensei wanted him to go to the nurse because of his leg."

Kankurou took a glance at Gaara's shin. He hadn't been able to see it before, and now that he could, he was concerned. "Holy shit…yeah, I'm taking you to the nurse. You, kid, whoever you are, get back to class, NOW."

Perhaps it was the growl in Kankurou's voice, or the towering sense of authority, even though he wasn't that much taller than the blonde, who he now recognized as that blonde sunspot from the first day. Either way, the boy slouched away, muttering about telling Genma-sensei. Kankurou snorted. He didn't care about that.

"Oh, thank you! I was so scared…I didn't want him to touch me in the first place and he picked me up, and before, he saw my bruises in the locker room and and and…" Kankurou shushed him. He learned in health that asthma attacks could be triggered by extreme panic, and Gaara didn't have an inhaler of his own yet. Temari's was at home.

Continuing the trek down to the nurse's office, Kankurou couldn't help but notice how thin his little brother's legs really were. It was during these observations that he made a startling conclusion.

"Holy shit…Gaara, I think my wrist is bigger than your ankle!" to be sure, he took one arm out from uselessly supporting Gaara's back; one arm could hold him easily. Sure enough, his wrist, which he never considered to be fat or anything was larger than the tiny redhead's thin, bony ankle.

Gaara flushed, embarrassed, and tried to move his ankle away from view. This only succeeded in bumping his injured shin, making him hiss in pain.

"Shit! Sorry!" Kankurou paused in his walking to reposition the boy into a more comfortable position, and then continued off without any random interruptions.

"More gym accidents?" the nurse looked very bored to be where she was.

"Uhh…yeah." Kankurou said. To say anything else might be semi-dangerous. "He hit his shin…very hard."

"No, really?"

Kankurou decided he did NOT like this nurse. "Anyways. Could you please check it out?" he said as politely as possible, setting Gaara down on the chair.

"Hm. You're SURE this was from class? When was this class?" the nurse asked, as if not believing their story.

"It's still going on." Kankurou answered, slightly alarmed that she didn't believe him.

"Well, it looks far too…dark to have been just recently. It wouldn't have colored this badly yet. Ah, but alas, we have a tiny little thing here. Perhaps it is possible, I don't know!"

'But aren't you a nurse?' Kankurou and Gaara through at the same time.

"Anyways, it doesn't look like it's broken or anything, but I'll give you an icepack. I advise to sit out of gym until it doesn't hurt to walk. It DOES hurt to walk, right? Would you stand up and take a few steps?"

Gaara blinked. She had said all that rather quickly. Standing up, he took a couple wobbly steps, trying to hide his limp.

"Sit out until the limp goes away." The nurse said, bored. "You should get back to class now, okay?"

Kankurou scooped Gaara back into his arms and walked out. As soon as they were gone, he unhooked one arm from Gaara's knees to give the nurse the finger. Some nurse SHE was.

* * *

During his last class, Neji decided that he'd try to make it up to Gaara. How, he wasn't sure, but he'd do it. It would probably involve an apology. He could do that. 

Being one to always plan ahead, Neji decided to write out what he'd say. He had nothing on the piece of lined paper before him and still couldn't think of anything.

'Oh well…I mean…maybe it'll just come to me when I talk to him!'

He didn't have any time to think further as the bell rang. Scooping up his stuff, he hurried to the door and to his locker, hoping to catch Gaara at his to talk to him without interference from any siblings.

Pausing at his locker to grab his possessions, he walked over to Gaara's locker. Currently, the redhead was waiting for two bulkier students to move so he could get to his, but it didn't look like they'd be moving anytime soon. He didn't appear to notice him at all, engrossed in staring at his feet. Following his gaze, Neji couldn't help but note just how tiny he was, including his feet, which looked to be no larger than a size three in men's. (For those of you that don't know, that is REALLY small…I think. I used to wear boy's shoes, and I fit into about a 5, 5.5. In women's I'm a 7.)

"G-gaara?" he managed to stammer quietly, never feeling more nervous in his life.

'But…why? Why do I get like this around him? Why does this…pathetic looking boy remind me so much of the past? Could I be…in love?'

Slowly, the redhead turned, a look of confusion making his features light up in an absolutely adorable way.

"H-huh? Oh! N-neji! Listen…I'm…I'm really sorry 'bout before…I shouldn't have yelled…" the redhead said softly, as if he was used to apologizing, and it not being accepted.

"Why are YOU apologizing? I should be the one saying that! I had no right to butt into your business, and maybe one day I'll tell you why I can't help but do so, but for now…I'm sorry." Neji had to stop himself from saying too much. After all these years, he was still afraid.

"Please…please don't apologize. I should've just sucked it up like everything else." Gaara mumbled, keeping his eyes glued to his feet.

Before Neji could stop himself, he wrapped his arms around the smaller, pathetic looking frame. "Sh…stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault."

Gaara jerked away, not so much afraid as he was shocked. Staring at him with fearful eyes, the redhead ran off, probably to go find his siblings.

Neji sighed. He was such a hypocrite sometimes.

* * *

WH00T! FINALLY FINISHED! Ack! Please don't kill me! I know I was bad! I went on vacation for five days, and that's why this is so late. I'm sorry…but I made it long! n.n;;; Twelve whole pages. Anywhoo, reviews! 

Severed Glass – I'm sorry for causing you such pain! Don't worry, though, you were not the only one! I really tortured the reviewers this time. Ah, but do not worry. Usually, updates don't take me this long. I'm a terrible person too. Gaara in pain appeases me and it shouldn't. T.T I'm such a sadist…

narroch06 – Yeah…mental warfare would not be fun…he's too traumatized. Aww…you live in Cincinnati! That's so far away from lonely lil ole Toledo! Oh well. I'm glad to have found another Ohioan! I loved doing the little psychological bit, it was rather fun.

TheFutureFreaksMeOut – I wubb the brotherly love. It's the bestest EVER. Gaara sleeping in Kanky's arms IS cute…I didn't think about that at the time O.o.

Ebony-chan – Schoolwork should go burn. I've never seen Signs. I actually do want to…

RP: You'll be scared shitless.

I know. n.n GASP! I SHOULD DO A NEJIGAAKANKY TRIANGLE! Seriously! Omigosh, that sounds so cool! Well, maybe in the next story. Kanky isn't any more than a brother in this. I liked the cycle continuing scene. It gave hints to the kazekage's past. And there WILL be stuff on that later. Lucky green socks…? That sounds cool. I SOMETIMES sleep with my socks on. I don't know why. Shortness is fun…n.n

littleanikaze – Hugs be to Gaara! Wh00t!

Kanky-chan – Oh shush up. YOU are the reason this one is so late, y'know. Don't try to hide it!

RP: No, it's because YOU procrastinated!

OH, SHUT UP! I should've made them go to Happy Rose…or Yoko's! You don't remember? The place with the ice cream area and the candy store and the bakery where we scared people….that's what I'm talking 'bout.

Dragon Man 180 – I haven't been suspended either. I wouldn't really like to try it. I just know that they do NOT give out make-up work, usually. Eh…heh…my town DOES have a 7/11…they do…

RP: She's just too inadequate to remember where the hell it is.

SHUT UP! I know where Kroger is, and that's all I need to know!

RP: Actually, you don't know where Kroger is.

….Shut up! Naruto-chan would if he had a demon. Which he doesn't.

Hurricane-rider – I hate chapters with no plot progression…they bug me. But it gave me time to hint stuff 'bout kaze-bastard's past. I feel like making him pitiful. I LOVE controlling fate! "I think our step sisters are in a gang" thing:does NOT remember ever hearing about that: It's never happened to me. Yet.


	16. First Crush

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Wh00t! I'm working on my chapter quickness!

Disclaimer: . . . . Don't tell me you haven't figured it out. Gawds, don't tell me you're as stupid as SAM!

* * *

Kankurou and Gaara found themselves walking home alone that day after school. Temari had decided to chance staying with a friend after school. She claimed that their father already knew and had granted her permission, but Kankurou doubted that. 

"And he did WHAT now?" Kankurou asked for possibly the umpteenth time since Gaara had started rambling.

"He hugged me and it felt really weird and I think he's figuring it out and he's not s-" the redhead said frantically, going over his entire story again.

"Gaara! Calm down!" Kankurou said, stopping him in mid-rant. "If you keep up like that, you'll have another asthma attack!" They were nearly home, and from where they were, they could already see the black car parked in front of the house. If Gaara were to have an asthma attack, Kankurou wasn't sure how and if he'd be able to get Temari's inhaler in time.

"I'm fine! It was only once!" Gaara tried to protest.

"Gaara, asthma does not happen only once! You can't push all this health stuff aside!" He said, almost angrily. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. "Now, say that again. Only the first thing that happened…"

"He hugged me?"

"WHO HUGGED YOU?" Kankurou's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head. School was NOT a safe place for his brother.

"Neji! Kankurou, were you listening?" Gaara said, as loud as his voice got in public situations or when their father was home.

"Kind of, I was trying to make sense of what you were saying! Now, go onto the second thing."

"And…it felt really weird?" Gaara was confused. Why was Kankurou breaking it down like this?

"What kind of 'weird'? Was it a bad kind of weird?"

"…No." The redhead was seriously starting to wonder about his brother's sanity.

Kankurou couldn't help a grin that spread over his face. "What kind of weird WAS it then?"

"It was…" Gaara had to recall just what the feeling had been when he was hugged. "It was…tingly. And…and…it felt kind of like when you and Temari hug me, you know, safe. But it was a little different."

Kankurou's grin grew wider, and Gaara thought he looked very much like a Cheshire cat. "Methinks someone's having his first crush!" he said, almost girlishly.

Gaara stared at him, bug-eyed. "WHAT? ON NEJI?"

The painted boy laughed. "I don't know, you tell me!"

Gaara blushed deeply. "I d-d-don't know…."

"You're even blushing. Don't worry, Temari and I don't disapprove gay-ness, and Dad'll never hafta know!"

Dad. What if Dad found out?

"DAD CAN'T KNOW! EVER! HE'LL KILL ME!" Was Gaara's freaked out reaction.

"Whoa, calm down there! It's okay, it's okay!" By now, both were in front of their house, and Gaara needed to compose himself or their father would get upset for one reason or another.

Cautiously, the two boys entered the house. Gaara braced himself for any form of attack out of habit, but both blinked in surprise to find their father dead asleep on the armchair, beer bottles scattered around the room.

It stank. He must have gone out, got beer, and stayed on a drinking binge all day.

"Well," Kankurou whispered so only Gaara could hear. "This is actually a pleasant change."

The redhead nodded. "Do you have any homework?" he asked, just as softly if not softer than Kankurou.

"Mm…a little. Why? D'you?"

"Tons…"

"Well, there's something to do when he's asleep. Homework without worrying about him barging in." And with that, Kankurou led Gaara upstairs to his room, since his room had a desk and Gaara's was quite literally still an empty room. He hadn't brought a lot to unpack, and he had never had a bed since he wasn't supposed to sleep.

"Ugh…I don't get some of this…Algebra…" Gaara mumbled quietly, pulling out an algebra book, pencil, calculator and notebook paper.

"Hm? Algebra? Oh, that stuff sucks balls. I hated it when I had to take it. But, lookie here. I've got Pre-Calc. Temari's got Honors Calc. It's insane."

(A/N: Do not expect me to go over what they're actually DOING in these subjects…maybe Gaara's Algebra, but definitely not anything else. See, I've only just gotten out of 7th grade, so I've only completed Pre-Algebra and probably some Algebraic concepts. For us, it goes 7th Grade – Pre-Algebra; Honors: Whole book, Regular: Half book. 8th Grade – Honors: Algebra 1, Regulars: Second half of Pre-Algebra book. And then I'm really not sure how it goes in high school. All I'm sure about it my freshmen friends who are in honors are taking Algebra 2, and I HEARD one might be going straight to geometry. So, excuse the a) very long A/N and b) the probable incorrectness of curriculum.)

Gaara nodded, chewing on his eraser while punching in the x and y coordinates into his calculator. None of this made any sense to him. In Sunaga, he had hardly grasped the concept, and the teachers never went over to help him when he struggled like they would to other students.

He frowned when the answer he had concluded wasn't in the answer banks. As if sensing his frustration, Kankurou slid over, reading some of it over his shoulder.

"Nn…I don't remember any of that crap. You know who I bet knows?"

"Temari?"

"…And Neji." The older teen grinned when Gaara turned beet red.

"Sh-shut up a-about that!" The redhead stammered, going back to try to work out the problem.

A minute later, Gaara abandoned the math homework, pulling out an English writing prompt.

Doing that easily enough, he finished through the rest of his homework and then frowned at the math. Kankurou noticed this and came over.

"Seriously, I bet Neji would know this. You should ask him," he said matter-of-factly.

Gaara once again turned the color of his hair. Seeing this, Kankurou grinned, and then put up a straight face. "No, I'm serious, Gaara! Do it!"

"F-f-fine! I'll d-do it!" he managed to stammer, beet-red.

Kankurou beamed, patted him on the head, and looked at the clock.

"Oh, crap! It's like…5:30! Why isn't Temari home yet? I'm gonna go fix us something to eat. You stay here just in case he wakes up, alright? Anything you'd really care for?"

Gaara shook his head. "Not really. I'm not actually that hungry, though…"

Kankurou gave him a stern look. "Gaara, you are eating. Temari told me that you're 16 pounds underweight. That's…really not good, Gaara."

Gaara looked away. "I know…I know it's not good…b-but…I'm really not hungry and I feel like I'm gonna throw up…" There. He said it. He had felt it all day and he felt it now. And now Kankurou would worry…just like he always did.

"Are you sick…?" he asked, walking back towards him.

"N-no! I'm okay…I'm just…my stomach…ah…I don't know…"

Kankurou placed a hand at his forehead. "You're not running a fever…Gaara, is it a mental thing?"

The redhead shrugged miserably. "I'll try to eat something…for you guys…" he mumbled.

Kankurou sighed. "Alright…but if you feel the urge to heave, run to the bathroom, alright?" He ruffled the smaller boy's hair and went downstairs quietly to make them both something.

* * *

Tiptoeing down the stairs, Kankurou took a fleeting glance at the over stuffed chair in the middle of the room. Giving the snoring figure the finger, his curiosity overtook him. 

He quietly padded over to the living room, being careful to avoid the creaky spots in the floor he had staked out within the first couple days they had lived there. Standing a mere foot away from the normally dangerous man, Kankurou felt nothing. No fear, no apprehension, even the immense amount of hatred he normally had for his father wasn't there.

He felt numb.

Watching the man sleep, he noticed little things that made him appear almost human. His brow was furrowed ever so slightly, but other than that, he looked more at peace than Kankurou had ever seen him in the last eleven years.

A beer bottle was still loosely clutched in one large, callused hand. That was the only impurity. If he were to take a picture of this moment, excluding the background littered in empty beer containers, no one would ever suspect what went on at home.

No one suspected it anyways.

He almost lost his balance and fell over onto his father when he heard the door open. Temari. He ran to stop her from yelling out the customary "Tadaima!".

"Kankurou!" she said, almost too loud for comfort.

"Shh! Dad's asleep for once instead of beating the shit out of Gaara. I was gonna make dinner, but you claim I can't cook so it'd probably be better if you made it. If you want, I can help though. I think Gaara's sick."

"…Since WHEN are you this helpful?" she asked, in awe, a lot quieter.

Kankurou shrugged. "I'm just in a good mood. Anyways, who were you with?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

Kankurou gave her a look. Even though Temari was the oldest, it was only by less than a year. Kankurou completely disregarded this and always took the most responsibility. She wished he wouldn't but she could she do?

"Alright, alright. I was with three friends of mine, Hoshigake Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, and Akuhibi Orochimaru." She said. At his pointed look, she added. "They're all guys."

"All guys? Did they pull anything?"

"Kankurou! Stop being so overprotective! I…ah….I don't like any of them!" Okay, okay. So what if Itachi and Orochimaru were girly and therefore hot? She didn't like them!

"You're stuttering!" Kankurou sang, grinning wildly. "Jeez, you and Gaara both! Wow. Life has certainly gotten rather interesting since we moved here!" and he started going on about how they were all so much more cheerful. He wasn't mocking her, but rather, he was also overjoyed that things were going so well outside of the four walls of their house.

"Wait! Wait! STOP IT RIGHT THERE!" Temari screeched, forgetting that the man in the other room was asleep. Kankurou paused in his rant, raising a painted-over eyebrow at her.

"Gaara's got a crush? On who!"

"AHA! So you DO admit it!" Kankurou said, accusingly pointing a finger at you from where he was at, cutting carrots. He also seemed to forget the sleeping drunk.

Temari ignored him. "KANKUROU!"

"Okay, okay! He's gotta crush on-" he was cut off short by the angry, tired slur from the threshold to the kitchen.

"Hey! Shut th' fuck up! God DAMMIT I have a headache…" Sabaku Kazekage in all his glory leaned against the doorframe, loosely clutching his head with one hand. He obviously had a hang over, but he looked like he was too tired to yell at them much, much less to lash out at the oblivious redhead upstairs.

As soon as they heard the door slam, Temari started up again, completely unfazed in her knowing that the auburn haired man wouldn't do anything to them if he was in pain himself.

"KANKUROU, TELL ME!"

"I AM! I'm using suspense!"

"YOU ASS!"

"Wh-what's going on?"

Temari stopped in mid-temper-tantrum to look at the petite figure in the doorway. Smiling gently, she gave him a reassuring wave. "N-nothing's going on, Gaara. We're just making dinner." She then remembered Kankurou's words. "Mou, are you sick?"

Gaara shook his head. "Nn….my stomach is just buggin' me…nothing really big." He said quietly.

"Alright. Well, I planned on making chicken soup anyways. Is that okay for your stomach?"

He nodded. Temari's cooking was rather good, and he really hadn't eaten much lately. His stomach was still bothering him, but at the same time he was hungry. It was kind of like wanting what he knew he shouldn't want.

Like Neji.

He hoped he wasn't blushing too noticeably. 'Where did that come from? I am NOT attracted to Neji!' he said, trying to reassure himself.

**Damn straight, you're not. 'cause if you are, then it'll probably be a problem for me. Love. Ick. Don't make me sick with your stupid hormone induced crushes, boy!**

Maybe that's all it was. Hormone induced. But, as much as Gaara tried to tell himself this, he knew that it wasn't true. He sighed. Life was too complicated for it's own good sometimes.

"Gaara? Dinner's ready."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Gaara nodded and took a place at the table.

* * *

Neji was dead bored. His cousins, Hinata and Hanabi had dance lessons tonight, and his uncle went with them. Usually, he would hang out with a friend, but everybody appeared to be busy. 

Well, he hadn't really tried Gaara…No, no he hadn't! Well then, he would just have to do so, then!

Picking up the phone next to his bed, he dialed the number and waited. The phone rang six times and then an answering machine came on. Kankurou's voice rang in his ears.

"Hey, this is the Sabaku residence." BOOM! CRASH! And was that screaming in the background? "We're probably just bein' too lazy to answer the phone, so whatever. Leave a message and maybe we'll check this piece of crap. Kay? Bye."

What was going on in the background? He didn't have time to think about it, because then the beep sounded.

"Uh, hey, this is Neji. Just wanted to know if it'd be possible to get together. Maybe over here this time, ya know? Alright, well, you have my number. Call me back when you can, okay? B-"

He didn't have time to finish when someone picked up the phone.

"N-neji?"

"Gaara? Hey!" he was rather happy his crush had answered.

"Sorry for being so late. We were eating."

Neji instantly felt bad. He hated interrupting these things. "Oh…I'm sorry. If right now's not a good time-"

"Oh, no! It's fine, really!" Neji was sure the redhead on the other line wasn't lying this time. "So…do you think we'd be able to get together? I'm bored. You guys could come here this time."

"Hm…I'd hafta ask Kankurou. Hold on." There was a click as the phone was set down. Neji was glad he had said Kankurou instead of his father. For some reason, Neji thought that might've been bad.

Gaara picked the phone up again. "Yeah, Kankurou says it'd be cool to. B-but we gotta finish dinner first…I-is that okay?" the question was asked as if he expected Neji to get mad and tell him it wasn't.

"That's fine! Yeah! Take your time, really. Alright, I guess I'll see you in a bit then. Bye!"

"B-bye."

Click.

Neji took a glance around the bedroom. The place was really a pigsty. He needed to do some cleanup before Gaara and his siblings came over.

* * *

WH00T! I FINISHED! GO ME, I'M SO FLY! Wh00t! 

I've been told by H-R-chan that answering reviews is now a no-no on ff.n and I'd hate to have this removed because I deleted all the chapters so my dad doesn't stumble upon them. That'd be reaalllly bad. So…yeah. Um, if it's a realllly good question that I KNOW won't be explained later, I'll be sure to answer it in an A/N, but I won't be individualizing things anymore, just in case. So..SH'BYES!


	17. Admittance

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Hey, I think I have a bit of writers' block, but I'm gonna try to start this anyways.

Disclaimer: I…don't…own it! I can wish.

* * *

Gaara was abnormally excited about going to Neji's house. So much, that Kankurou felt the very rare urge to tease his brother and eat very slowly while Gaara had wolfed through his chicken wing and a half, mashed potatoes from the box, and green beans. 

"Kankurou! Why are you eating so slowly? Usually you eat faster than me!" was the whiney complaint.

Temari giggled. "My, my, aren't we anxious?"

"I know, jeez, Gaara, you'll get to see your lover!"

Gaara blushed crimson and slumped down onto the table, resting his head on his arm, poking at the other half of his chicken wing, which he was decidedly too full to finish. He was NOT pouting. Really!

"Gaara are you pouting?" Temari asked, nearly astounded. Gaara NEVER pouted. And lover? Ohhh! She understood now. She understood _everything._ She turned to Kankurou. "Okay, Kankurou, SERIOUSLY. You do NOT need to get EVERY singular scrap of meat off the damn chicken bone!" she said, trying to hold in giggles.

"Oh, but I do! You see, this chicken shouldn't be wasted in case the world goes on a sudden chicken shortage!"

Temari gave him a look, then contemplated something for a minute. "Hey, Gaara, I got a plan." And she leaned over and told him.

Gaara grinned, and lifted Kankurou's head from where it was, only about 3 inches over his plate. While he was still surprised from this action, Temari took his plate and dumped out the remaining food, tossed it in the sink, and wiped her hands off.

"Alright, we're ready!" she chirped.

Kankurou made a pouty face and got out of Gaara's soft grip on his head. "No fair, you two!"

"Oh, shut up and get your shoes on!"

* * *

Neji glanced around his room, proud. He had managed to make the space at least semi-presentable, and only in about ten minutes! His uncle would be pleased. Scooping up the basket that held all the dirty clothes he had picked up from where they had been scattered around his floor, he made his way to the bathroom to dump them in the dirty laundry pile. 

He was walking out, empty basket in hand, when he heard the doorbell. Beaming, he set the basket down in the hallway and flew downstairs to get the door.

"Boo."

"…" Kankurou had odd ways of greeting people. "Hey there! Uh, I know you guys just ate dinner 'n all, but if you're hungry or thirsty, please don't hesitate to ask."

Gaara and Temari nodded while Kankurou beamed. Seeing the look on his face, Temari elbowed him.

"Oww!"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "…Huh? Do you want anything?"

"Well, you see, THESE TWO got impatient with me trying to eat all the chicken off the bone because someday the world might go on a chicken shortage and threw out half of my dinner!"

"You were going slow on purpose!" Temari cried in exasperation.

"Yeah!" Gaara agreed, nodding.

Kankurou crossed his eyes and pouted. "Caught."

Neji laughed and stepped back so they could enter the house. "So, do you want anything?"

Kankurou shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. I can go a lot longer without food than this." he said casually.

Neji shrugged. "Suit yourself." He led them upstairs, taking the previously abandoned basket with him. He sat the basket in a corner of his room, which was still messy, but not as embarrassingly so.

"Uhhh…I have video games." He said, casually. Kankurou looked like he was in love.

"SO YOU DO!" and he proceeded to nearly attack his Playstation 2.

Neji owned a wide variety of games. Anything from Final Fantasy to Tekken to …What WAS that? It looked like some weird game that some crack head made up.

"Hey, Neji, what's this?" Kankurou asked, picking up the case.

"Oh, Katamari Damacy? It's really neat. It's only one player, though. I think it has a two-player option, but I don't care to try it. The game is scary enough as it is. Here, I can show you guys."

He turned on the black machine and waited for the introduction screen to load. Red pandas, rainbows, billions of multi-colored mushrooms, and singing ducks filled the screen. Creepy, childish, and very much retarded music played in the background. Neji hit the 'continue game' option and started…making a star. It looked more like he was rolling a ball around and picking up random items for no reason.

It looked rather odd, but at the same time, intriguing. Gaara wanted to play it, but he was afraid to ask.

"…Dude. You just picked up a COW." Kankurou said, staring at the screen. Temari had gotten bored and flopped down on Neji's bed, not knowing it was a waterbed.

"WHOA!" She exclaimed when the waterbed juggled her weight around.

Neji giggled, knowing her mistake, never letting his eyes stray from the screen, though.

"…Dude. You just picked up a…WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST PICK UP? SCREW THE HUT THING, YOU JUST PICKED UP A HUGE-ASS **OCTOPUS!**"

Neji lost it. Kankurou yelling at the game was just so humorous he fell over backwards laughing. Gaara giggled shyly behind his hand, but not very loudly, as if he was afraid of getting caught.

"Alright. That is definitely enough of that." He reached to turn off the Playstation 2 when a loud crash sounded. Gaara jumped, eyes wide and darting around the room looking for a place to hide.

"…Oh, shit, I completely forgot about the Thunderstorm warning…" Neji cursed to himself. "What time is it?"

Kankurou glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. "It is 9:30."

"9:30?" Gaara exclaimed, voice shaking. "K-kankurou, what if D-dad didn't know we were out this late?"

"Yeah, Kankurou," Temari added. "Did you leave a note?"

"…" Of course Kankurou hadn't left a note. He wouldn't read it anyways. He'd be too piss-drunk. "Uh…no…I didn't. We should really get going then, Neji…"

"HOLD ON!" Neji interrupted, yelling over a longer, louder burst of thunder. "You guys are NOT walking home in this weather. End of story. I forbid it."

"But Neji…our dad doesn't know we're over here…" Gaara protested weakly. Oh, how he wished he could just stay here with Neji for all eternity… "And…ah…I still have math homework…" he added in a mumble, more to himself.

"Yeah…" Kankurou glanced out the window. It looked like it was raining baseballs, and there was probably hale somewhere in that mess, too. Trees were all over the place and he knew that walking home, or even DRIVING home probably wouldn't be a good idea. "Yeah," he repeated. "That storm looks really bad…"

"Exactly. So, you guys are spending the night!" Neji said cheerfully.

"But school!" Temari exclaimed.

"B-but Dad!" Gaara said at the same time.

"I'll call Dad right now and tell him that we really have no choice and we can go get our school stuff tomorrow morning before we walk over there." Kankurou supplied, sending a look to Gaara of reassurance.

Gaara had never spent the night at anyone else's house before. He would probably be very nervous.

"So…uh…I need a phone." Kankurou finished, grinning stupidly.

"Oh, right!" Neji exited the room for a moment, off to find the always-missing portable phone. (It's like my house! XD)

"K-kankurou…I…I don't know about this…" Gaara said quietly when he had left.

"It'll be okay. Really. Gaara, look outside, if we go out there, the sheer force of everything falling from the sky is going to rip our skin off. We really have no choice. And although Dad won't see that, I'm gonna be sure to go somewhere in case I need to cuss him out, alright? He isn't going to hit you for this, I swear." Was the reassurance. Gaara notably calmed down, forcing a small smile.

* * *

For once in all eternity, the portable phone was actually in it's cradle. This was a very new thing. Grabbing it like it would run away, he sprinted up the stairs. He heard conversation in his room, and being the nosy person he was by nature, decided to listen before alerting anyone to his presence. 

"…in case I need to cuss him out, alright? He isn't going to hit you for this, I swear."

That was Kankurou's voice. He must've been talking to Gaara, because Neji noted that when he talked to Temari, his voice tended to be on the harder side, but when he talked to his younger sibling, his voice was softer, kinder. That was the voice he heard.

He knew it. He didn't want to know it, but he did. It was just so _obvious _sometimes. And now, his worst suspicions had been confirmed.

Gaara WAS being abused.

For some reason, this sparked more anger in him than it should have. How _dare _that bastard hurt someone so small…so fragile as Gaara? That was just plain unfair. Completely unfair.

Composing himself, since he decided it might not be a good idea to tell them that he knew just yet, he walked back into his bedroom, handing the phone to Kankurou and sitting next to Gaara.

"Hey, you guys aren't gonna get in trouble for this, are you?" Neji questioned.

"No. Not at all." Kankurou answered before Gaara even had a chance to flinch.

"Oh, okay."

Kankurou dialed his home phone number and waited for someone to pick up. At the first ring, he looked back at Neji. "Hey, Neji, would it be okay if I went somewhere else with this?"

Neji didn't question why; he already knew. "Sure, go ahead." He said as casually as possible. Kankurou thanked him and exited the bedroom.

"Neji…I gotta use the bathroom…uh…where is it?" Temari asked sheepishly, putting a hand behind her head.

"Oh, the bathroom is right across from my room. And if it's occupied, there's one downstairs by the kitchen, too." He supplied, almost grateful that she was leaving him and Gaara alone.

"Thank you!" She chirped, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

Gaara stared at his hands like they were the most interesting things on the planet.

Neji had to get this over with.

"Hey…Gaara?" The smaller boy perked up, showing Neji that he had his attention, playing a little with the edges of his sleeves.

"Is…is everything alright at home?" he asked cautiously.

Gaara's eyes widened nearly unnoticeably and he nodded furiously. "O-of course! Wh-why do you ask?"

"Just…no reason. You know, if something's going on, you can tell me, right? You don't have to hide from everyone. 'Cause not everyone's going to hurt you." He was hoping that this would get Gaara to open up and tell him, so he wouldn't have to worry about knowing, but not being told directly.

Gaara nodded again, jerkier. "I…ah…I'm fine…really…" he mumbled, hands in his lap.

Neji sighed. He'd have to do it like this. "Gaara, I heard Kankurou talk to you when I went to go get the phone."

First, Gaara looked confused. Then, his eyes widened in realization and filled with tears.

"No…y-you…y-you….i-it…I…HE DOESN'T HIT ME!" he managed finally, shaking slightly.

"Shh…Gaara…please…it's okay. If you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't." Neji knew that if there had been any doubt earlier, it was gone now.

Gaara shook his head. "He'll know…N-neji, he always knows! Every time!" Tears were running freely down porcelain cheeks, and Neji wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe them all away.

Without thinking, the older teen reached out and embraced the redhead, nearly clinging to him so he wouldn't pull away. "It's okay…he's not ever going to find out…but what he's doing to you is wrong, Gaara."

"N-no! No it's not!" Gaara managed in between sobs, his face buried in Neji's chest. "I k-killed M-mom…it-it's my f-fault! I-it's always my f-fault! I-I'm just the stupid w-wench that m-messed up the entire f-family!"

These words wrenched at Neji's heart. Of course he blamed himself. That's how it always was in these situations. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he found himself pulling Gaara into a warm embrace, letting him cry into his chest and continue ranting on about the entire thing while Neji rubbed soothing circles on his back.

Somehow, everything would get better.

* * *

Alright, it wasn't in my original plan to have this end here, but you know what? It's a good ending spot XP. Don't you all just hate me? For some reason, I am UBER inspired to write at the moment, so I think next I'm going to work on the second chapter of Haunted, which shouldn't take too long because I am VERY eager to do more with that story, and get the next one out for this, and so on and so forth. 

…Or, that's the PLAN. The chances of this actually happening are so slim it's funny. Chances are, I'm going to work on whatever chapter I find to be more inspiring to write. So, yeah, I got this out QUICK! LOVE ME, PEOPLE!


	18. The beginning

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Ah, it's a good day. Actually, it's not; I have to go to church, but whatever! For one reason or another, fanfic writing has suddenly gotten very inspirational and it's going very fast right now. I'm glad, but I'm hoping I'm not going TOO fast with the updates. (Ha ha, as if anyone minds)

Disclaimer: OKAY, I GIVE UP! I'VE TRIED TO HIDE IT ALL ALONG, BUT I ACTUALLY **DO** OWN NARUTO!

RP: …No she doesn't.

YES I DO!

RP: ….No. You don't.

Fine, fine, caught in the act. I don't own it.

**NOTE! **Like in Haunted, I have decided to name the sand-sib's mother Kasuka. Just so no one gets confused.

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

Kankurou wasn't surprised when the phone wasn't answered on the fourth ring. Or the fifth. Or even the sixth, knowing his father was probably yelling at the machine by now. 

He only half paid attention to the voice on the machine; he had been the one recording it. A crash in the background alerted him and he cursed himself for having that on there. He'd have to change it when he got home.

"Hey, it's Kankurou. We went to a friend's ho-"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?"

Kankurou was surprised. Their father NEVER answered the phone.

"Where the fuck are you?"

And he was wondering where they were. He must've been sober. A definite change.

"ANSWER ME, BITCH!"

"We're over at a friend's house," he said smoothly. "And you see the big storm outside? Or are you too piss-drunk to hear the loud crashes?"

Phone conversations were the times he could get away with things like this. And if he didn't, then hey, it didn't always have to be Gaara he picked on. Especially if the man was drunk, he'd forget about the entire thing.

"Yeah, I hear the storm. What's your fucking point? Drag your sorry asses home." No, the man was definitely sober.

"Well, if you haven't seen it from a window, then you wouldn't know that it would probably kill us to walk home." Kankurou had no idea why he was bringing this point up.

"What's your fucking point? I want you home. _Now_." He nearly laughed out loud. His father was trying to scare him with the same voice that terrified Gaara. Well, now, Kankurou was above that. He could block out what Gaara couldn't.

"The fucking point is that we have to stay here or you'll have police investigating shit. There's a warning that no one's to leave his or her houses. I KNOW you don't want that." None of this he was sure of, but he thought it might be better to get their father to agree to them staying. It'd be easier on Gaara.

"Hn. They won't investigate here, they'll investigate whoever the fuck you're staying with." He was smart. Kankurou never knew.

"You know what? I don't give a shit. We're staying here, end of story, you're a bastard, go burn in Hell." He added, in his sweetest voice. "'Kay? Buh bye."

Pushing the off button, Kankurou walked out of the bathroom, rather pleased about that conversation. When he got to Neji's bedroom door, he stopped. His ears had always been sensitive and from behind the closed door, he could hear crying.

Brow furrowed, Kankurou pushed open the white-painted wood door, not fully prepared for the scene inside.

* * *

'I officially hate whoever was in the upper floor bathroom.' Temari thought to herself. Neji had said that there was another bathroom right by the kitchen. Not too hard, right? 

Well, maybe not if you lived in a regular house.

Not in a triplex that you owned all to yourself, so it was like a mini-mansion.

So, there should've been other bathrooms, right? I mean, it was a triplex. No. Of course not. Because this triplex had been modified so there were only three bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, two living rooms, and a lot of bedrooms.

Of course.

She was having a lot of difficulty finding the kitchen in the massive array of bedrooms, which she had realized most of which held occupants. Neji sure had a big family. Suddenly, there was a girl in her path.

"Mou! Um, little girl! Could you ple-"

"I am NOT a little girl, you hag! I'm NINE!" the small thing in front of her looked completely outraged that she, a seventeen year old would call her, a nine year old, a little girl.

"…I'm sorry." Temari said, a funny look on her face.

"No! I don't care! You're UGLY and out of fashion!" the girl flipped her hair.

Now, Hanabi had yet to learn that not all teenaged girls were like her sister. Most took great offense to these comments.

"HEY. YOU. KID. I AM NOT UGLY AND I REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT BEING OUT OF FASHION! ALL I WANTED WAS TO KNOW WHERE THE BATHROOM WAS!" she screeched, pointing an accusing finger at the smug nine year old.

"Well! Fine, why didn't you just SAY so?" Can you say mood swing? "Right over there!" she pointed at a room that Temari had passed numerous times on her treks to the bathroom.

Fuming at herself, the blonde stomped over and muttered a 'thank you' to the girl.

When the bathroom door closed, Hanabi rolled her eyes. "What's with HER?"

* * *

Kankurou stared at the sight in front of him. Neji was holding his brother in a gentle embrace, rocking him slightly and rubbing soothing circles on the younger boy's back. Gaara was crying into Neji's chest, his breath hitching occasionally. Neither seemed to notice that he had come in. 

"G-gaara?" he managed, fear growing in his chest at the possibility of what had just happened.

Neji turned his head to Kankurou, unshed tears shining in his eyes. Gaara snapped up, his gaze on his brother.

Kankurou nearly cried at the look on Gaara's face. It looked so scared, so sad, and so pathetic.

"K-k-kankurou, h-he f-found o-out…" the redhead managed between hiccups.

Kankurou walked over, slowly, eyes wide. "You know?" he whispered to Neji, who only nodded in response.

They sat in silence for a minute, letting it all sink in. It was Gaara who broke it, lunging out of Neji's arms and into Kankurou's.

"N-n-nii-chan, I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't h-hide it well enough and n-now Neji kn-knows a-and D-dad's g-gonna kill hi-him!" he sounded panicked, and Kankurou couldn't help but notice how irregular his breathing had gotten.

Asthma.

"Gaara…shh….it's okay. I'm not going to let Dad find out…it's okay…please, Gaara, just breathe. I don't think Temari carts her inhaler with her everywhere."

Neji gave him a questioning look to which Kankurou mouthed the word 'asthma' in response, trying to get the near-hysterical boy to calm down.

"B-but K-kankurou! Wh-what if he finds out a-anyways!"

"Shh…"

"W-what if h-he h-hurts you or T-temari? Y-you g-guys di-didn't do anything! I k-killed M-mom!"

"Gaara. Stop right there. You did NOT kill Mom. She died saving you on her own choice. Now, shh…"

This went on until Kankurou had managed to get Gaara to stop rambling and relax, while Neji looked on with sad, curious eyes.

When Gaara did calm down, they sat in silence, Neji keeping his gaze locked on the ground. Kankurou broke it, this time.

"Gaara, try to sleep. Please. I don't want you to get sick. Tell that damned raccoon to make an exception."

Gaara was about to argue it, it seemed, but he gave up before any words left his mouth and nodded, shifting into a more comfortable sleeping position in Kankurou's arms.

Neji waited until the redhead was asleep before saying anything.

"Kankurou-"

"I'll explain it. I'll explain it all." He mumbled, standing up with Gaara in his arms and setting him gently on Neji's bed, tucking him in and carefully brushing a few stray strands of hair out of his eyes.

"Alright. I should probably start at the beginning…" the older teen sunk back down to the floor, massaging his temples slowly, with his eyes closed. Neji got up and closed the door, sitting down across from him.

_

* * *

Obviously, you know about the abuse. I don't think Dad originally hated Gaara from the start. Temari says he might've, but I really don't think so. I remember back when Mom told us that we'd get him. She told the entire family at once. _

"Kaze-kun? Tem-chan? Kanky-chan?" Sabaku Kasuka said over dinner. The two toddlers on either side of her immediately stopped bickering about food portions, and who was getting more pudding later.

She turned to the children first. "Kanky, you like being the youngest, right?"

The tiny brunette next to her nodded vigorously. Why would he not like it? Mama loved him more than anything, and he boasted about how she loved him even more than 'Ri!

"Well, would you like to be a big brother?"

Kankurou considered this. He knew that older siblings got to boss around younger sibling; 'Ri always demonstrated that to him whenever he played with her. He'd always wanted to boss around someone.

And there were times when she was nice, too! He'd prove that he could be a better older brother than 'Ri was! (We're not even going to mention the fact that there's a difference between a brother and a sister; he's TWO!)

"Mama, I wanna be a big brother so I could prove to 'Ri that I'm better!" he said, boldly. (Also note that while I'm not typing it for easier reading, they both speak with lisps.)

His mother nodded. "Okay, and Tem-chan? Would you like to have another little brother or sister?" Kasuka said in her sweetest, most persuading voice. Temari hadn't been happy with the birth of Kanky, because her and Kazekage had never bothered to tell her. The girl had been nine months old when her brother was born!

"I don't know…will they be as annoying as Kanky? 'Cause he always bugs me!" the three year old pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, we don't know yet. Are you willing to give it a shot?"

Temari considered the good points. If Mama had another baby, she could cuddle and hold this one because she'd be big enough to! And Kanky wouldn't be, because he was still two! She could boss him around to get her way like she did Kanky, and it'd be a lot of fun!

"I'll…give it a shot." Temari said after a while, mimicking her mother's previous words.

Kasuka turned to Kazekage, who sat there, face frozen in something between shock and joy.

"Are you…?"

"I am!"

The auburn-haired man stood up and hugged her tightly. She hugged back just as so, pleased that he was so accepting.

"Yay! That went over well!" Kasuka chirped. "Who wants pudding?"

"I DO!"

"NO SHE DOESN'T! I DO, THOUGH!"

_We didn't really understand how it was going to happen. Just that we were getting a baby. I know Dad used to love Gaara because there was a time when Mom was almost positive that he would die before she could have him. Apparently, something was real weird with his breathing. Temari and I aren't supposed to know that, but we had been eavesdropping. It's not every night your mother comes home from taking pictures of the baby crying._

Kankurou and Temari sat excitedly in their seats on the couch, craning their heads to look out the window behind them.

"LOOK! I SEE MAMA'S CAR, KANKY!" Temari exclaimed, pointing to a white vehicle.

"Shh! We hafta sit real still or Mama won't tell us what the baby looks like! Jeez, you're supposed to be OLDER!" Kankurou complained, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to look like he was the good one and Temari was the bad one.

"Stop lookin' like that! You stole my toy and made Daddy yell at me!"

_Back then, when 'Daddy' yelled we weren't afraid._

"Well, you stole MY car so I stole one to be even!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yuh huh!"

They stopped immediately when Kasuka walked in the door. They were about to ask her a bunch of questions ("IS THE BABY A GIRL?" "Is the baby gonna look like you or Daddy?" "I hope it doesn't look like Kanky; he's ugly!" "HEY!" "MAMAAA!") when they saw the expression on her face. Obviously, their mother had been crying, and she still was. Tears still streaked down her face and she appeared not to notice her children on the couch, trying to look as good as possible without looking worried.

"K-kaze-kun!" she called out, her voice cracking.

"Mama? Mama, what's wrong?" Temari asked softly. It didn't appear that Kasuka heard her.

Their father came from the steps, worried by the tone of her voice. "Kasuka!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong? There isn't…something wrong with the baby, is there?"

She started sobbing again, breaking down, unable to tell him anything. Kazekage noticed the toddlers on the couch looking scared to see their mother like this. "Tem-chan, Kanky, go upstairs and play, okay? And if you two start arguing, I'm going to take all your toys away!"

"Okay!" they cried in unison, running upstairs. As soon as they got there, Kankurou rolled his eyes and snuck back down to hearing range, feeling Temari follow.

"They said…th-that he p-p-probably wasn't gonna make it be…because his breathing levels are…are all wr-wrong and if th-they continue like th-this, then he's nuh-not going to get enough oxygen into h-his br-brain and will be born d-dead or severely b-brain da-damaged and th-there's nothing th-they can d-do!" their mother was exclaiming. Their father had his arms wrapped tight around her heaving frame, rocking slightly.

"Listen…Kasuka…at work…they found this…this thing. Maybe it could save him. It is a him, right?"

She nodded again. "And he was so beautiful…so tiny…he looked so perfect even though he wasn't breathing right…"

Kazekage nodded, glad he could get his near-hysterical wife to calm. "I'll show you…"

Guiding the woman with an arm around her waist, the couple exited the room.

_My brother isn't exactly the most normal person in the world. No, I'm serious. The only way he was going to live was to put a demon inside of him. Go ahead, don't believe me, but that's the truth. There was apparently this scroll that told of a demon that could give its human vessel extreme power and good health. Dad was willing to use it, even though it had hardly been examined, and Mom was too. When Gaara was born, the demon gave him insomnia, and we found out just how bloodthirsty the thing was when our baby brother floated into our room with gleaming yellow eyes. If he fell asleep, the demon would come out, and he wanted revenge on the human race. But, we didn't know that at the time. We just knew that the 'good demon' was going to save our little brother's life._

"Tem-chaaan! I hate hospicles!" Kankurou whined, legs swinging in his chair. "I wanna be outside playing in the snow!"

"Shut up! Mama's having the baby!" Temari reached over and smacked him gently. "You need to have some patience!"

"Both of you, please, we're in a public waiting room. Don't embarrass me." Kazekage said, massaging his temples.

_He was afraid it wouldn't work and the demon would kill Mom_ and_ Gaara._

"Yes, Daddy." Temari chirped, putting up an air of innocence.

They waited like that for another hour before a nurse came in and told them that the baby was born and that they could go see him and their mother.

Relieved, Kazekage got up, and he was in such a good mood that he carried his children, one in each arm, to the room where Gaara had been born.

_I'll never forget it. He was so tiny, so perfect. Gaara was always really thin. When he was born, he was underweight. He's always been that way because of the demon's metabolism. It makes it near impossible for Gaara to gain weight, and it doesn't help that…now…he's starved. But back then he was perfect. Mom said so, Dad said so, and Temari and I thought the same._

Sitting up in the white hospital bed was their mother, holding something wrapped in a white blanket. In stark contrast to the white surrounding it was a patch of bright red hair.

"Hey there…" Kasuka said tiredly. "It worked, Kaze-kun! He's alive…and he's so perfect…" she carefully pulled some of the blanket away from the baby's face, showing off a set of beautiful, sea foam green eyes. "Kanky, Tem-chan, come see your brother!" she exclaimed.

Kazekage helped them both onto the bed, telling them to be very careful. Kasuka pulled a little more of the blanket away, allowing those big, green eyes to stare at his family.

"Hi there." Temari whispered. "I'm Temari (Tay-maw-wee), your older sister. This is Kanky, your brother." She would've added 'He's stupid.' if it had been an appropriate time.

Kankurou moved up a little. "Wow, he sure is small…"

_And he was. I'm still amazed at just how small they are when they're that little._

"Mama, can I hold him?" Temari asked softly. She had already reached out to him and Gaara had one of her fingers in his tiny hand.

Kasuka considered it for a moment. "Well…alright…I'll let you both hold him, but you have to be VERY careful and Mama and Daddy are going to have to help you…okay?"

Temari nodded, excited. Kasuka sat up a little further, shifting the baby's position a little. He made a tiny noise at the movement, which astounded both Kankurou and Temari like nothing else they had ever heard.

Gently, Kasuka lifted Gaara from where he was nestled in the crook of her arm and laid him in Temari's lap, positioning her hands to cup his head and support him. She stared, astounded, and the baby stared back, confused at the sudden switch.

"What's his name, Mama?"

"I named him Gaara. I thought it sounded nice." Kasuka said quietly. She was obviously tired from labor.

"It wasn't a difficult or painful one, was it?" Kazekage asked.

"Well, no, he's so small he slipped out easily, but it still required a lot of pushing." Kasuka explained, never taking her eyes off Temari.

"My turn! My turn!" Kankurou exclaimed, being quiet about it. Kasuka nodded and gently lifted Gaara from Temari's arms. Kankurou swore there was a look of confusion across Gaara's face when he was switched again, but it disappeared, sensing familiarity around Kasuka.

"Alright, Tem-chan, could you move a little so your brother has room?" she asked, trying to tear her eyes from Gaara, who had started babbling in her arms. (Apparently, I 'talked' a lot when people came to visit me during my first day of life in the hospital. So, Gaara shall do the same, because I don't remember my younger sister's at all and my youngest sister was screaming her ass off.)

Temari scuffled over to near Kasuka's knees, letting Kankurou get closer to where Gaara was, still babbling away.

"Mama, what's he sayin'?" he asked softly, amazed.

"He's saying that he loves his family very much."

Kankurou beamed. Kasuka smiled and gently set the 'talking' infant in Kankurou's arms, positioning his arms like she had done to Temari's.

_That feeling was magical. Knowing that something that small and helpless depended on us to survive. It was magical. I was holding the thing that just a few months ago apparently had no chance of survival. It was the greatest thing I had ever felt in my two years of life._

Gaara stared at him, his noise-making ceased as soon as he was away from the familiar being. He blinked large, green eyes and yawned, trying to stretch; trying to move.

"I think he's tired." Kasuka said. "But, when he tried to sleep just a little before you came here-"

"You mean he's been here for a while?"

"Yeah…he's been here for a few hours. He tried to go to sleep, and he woke up again as soon as he slumbered, but his eyes were yellow. It was the demon, I think, and I talked to it, and it talked back, and I made an agreement that for Gaara's first five years of life, he was to let him sleep peacefully, and if he wanted to wean him from sleeping after that, whatever, just as long as Gaara was healthy.

"So, there's side effects…?" Kazekage said, somewhat disappointed. "He'll be okay, though, right?"

"He should be. I was very stern with the demon." Kasuka said, proud of herself.

Kazekage nodded. "Good job, dear. I know you have a little bit of trouble when it comes to discipline."

Kankurou tuned the rest of the conversation out; it didn't apply to him. He was content with watching Gaara try to stay awake.

"Hey, Gaara-chan."

_I swear he understood me._

"You know, you can go to sleep. It's okay."

And with that, the youngest member of the family fell asleep.

_I knew then that I would protect him from everything. And from that day until he was three, I did. I wish I could've kept that promise his entire life thus far, but it obviously hasn't worked out._

* * *

AND VOILA! I LEAVE YOU WITH ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! Oh my gosh, I just wrote about baby Gaara and I squealed while doing so! A LOT! Okay, more in the next chapter, I need to work on Haunted's 3rd. 


	19. How we Came to Be

Lost and Found 

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Omigosh, you have no idea how much I wanted to completely neglect Haunted and do this chapter. But, now that I've updated that, here's this! I've wanted to do it for so long…By the way, I'm thinking of changing my penname to Procrastinating Fairy because AIM didn't like it. What do you guys think?

Disclaimer: I swear, one day, I'm gonna stop putting these things up…

* * *

Kankurou paused in his story to glance at Neji, wiping away tears that he didn't remember shedding. Their family had been so happy back then…it was painful. Not in a bad way, but in a reminiscing way. 

Neji looked at him, a few tears streaming down his face, too. "I…is there more?" he asked softly, hoping not to offend the older teen.

Kankurou wiped his eyes once more, then sniffled and nodded. "Yeah…yeah, there's more…"

_

* * *

Gaara's first three years were great. I mean, as siblings, we all got along rather well. Dad was great and Mom was there for anything that was anything. I'll never blame Gaara for…the incident. Ever. I know Temari doesn't either, and Dad…well… _

"Kasuka-chan," Sabaku Kazekage started at breakfast one morning. "I have a day off today. What do you say we do something with the kids?"

Kasuka looked up from where she was attempting to keep Gaara semi-clean while eating pancakes. This attempt was generally futile, since the three year old had already managed to get it all over his tiny hands, his face, and in his hair.

Considering the idea, she idly took the plate that Gaara had started licking, thus dumping more sticky syrup in his brilliantly colored hair and nodded. "That sounds nice. It'd be a rather pleasant change." Turning to her children, and ignoring Gaara's squawks for his sugary-sweetness to be returned to him, she announced the idea.

"That sounds great!" Temari answered at once, taking another bite of her pancakes.

Kankurou merely nodded, his cheeks stuffed to the maximum capacity with pancakes. Kasuka frowned gently, but the smile never left her eyes.

"Kanky-chan, you're going to choke. Don't take so much food."

"…" The five year old proceeded to spit some out on his plate.

"EW! KANKY, GROSS!" Temari exclaimed, playfully whapping the younger boy over the head. Kankurou flashed a sheepish smile.

Kazekage frowned playfully. "I hope you don't act like that when we go out for food later, or you're not going anywhere."

Gaara giggled as Kankurou furiously explained he wouldn't do it in public, only at home, his longing for the syrup temporarily forgotten.

…Then he spied the whole bottle, right within grasp of his tiny arms. It beckoned to him, so while everyone else was busy, he took it, and holding it like a bottle, started to suck the contents down.

The bottle wasn't one of those squeeze ones with the safe cap. It was one of the poor-on bottles.

Result? Messier, stickier Gaara, no more syrup, and a very giggly family.

"I think we're to take a bath before we go anywhere." Kasuka said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed a washcloth she had already wetted and tried to wipe some of the syrup away from the toddlers face and hands. Gaara struggled, the cloth was cold, but Kasuka managed to clean him to the point where she could scoop him up from his high chair and take him to the bathroom.

_We were all so innocent back then. It's so hard to believe that back then, Gaara would talk back to Dad. It wasn't really in offense or even defense, it mostly just playful banter like most everything else seemed to be at the time. I miss the innocent days, to tell you the truth. That day passed by very quickly, and before we knew it, we had seen a movie, went out for lunch, and were at the playground._

"Mama, sand!" Gaara chirped, pointing to the sandbox from his place at her side with the hand that had previously been in his mouth. (Do note he talks with an extremely strong lisp. I'm just not typing it.)

Kasuka nodded, leading him to the boxed-off area of finer, less rocky sand and then going over to the bench where Kazekage sat, keeping half an eye on the toddler.

Kankurou immediately dashed for the swings; he always loved them. Temari went for the slide, climbing up the steps and going down, then repeating the process multiple times.

_Now that I look back at it, we were at that park for quite a long time, generally uneventfully. I mean, we were having fun, and no one really noticed that it was the longest we had been there. It must've been three hours or so before anything really started happening. Gaara had even managed to keep himself injury-free._

"Kazekage-sama!" A voice came from the distance. Kankurou frowned from where he was playing with his brother in the sand. With his help, Gaara had constructed a sandcastle nearly as tall as the three-year old's two feet and eight inches. Gaara was currently running in circles around the castle, falling every so often, but not getting hurt in the soft sand.

Kankurou hated hearing the words 'Kazekage-sama!' when they were having family time. It usually meant his father was getting called into work.

"Kazekage-sama!" The voice came again. His father turned his head from where it looked like he was having a serious conversation with Kasuka to show the man he had his attention.

_I found out later they were considering a fourth child._

Kankurou watched warily as this man and his father had a conversation, and when he nodded, Kankurou felt his heart sink. He had accepted a call into work…

Digging little holes in the soft sand, Gaara came up to him, big, sea-foam-green eyes shining in worry.

"Nii-chan? Daijoubu?" he chirped softly, on all fours in the sand, which had gotten everywhere, clinging to the red hair and his clothing. It was caked on his tiny palms and bony, bare knees.

Kankurou forced himself to smile. "It's nothing, Gaara-chan." He said quietly, almost sadly.

"Nuh-uh! What's wrong?" The toddler persisted, sitting cross-legged with his tiny arms crossed over his chest.

Kankurou blinked. Gaara never questioned his responses. He sighed. "Daddy's gonna go to work on us…" he said sadly, near pouting. Gaara blinked, then stood up to crane his neck and see. Seeing the man talking to his father, Gaara scowled, pouted, and then ran out of the sandbox, tripping every so often.

Kankurou stared. Was Gaara doing what he thought the toddler was doing?

_It amazes me how brave my brother used to be. Now, he's shyer than a mouse, and no nerve to do anything 'bad'. Blame my father for that._

"HEY, MISTER!" The three year old screeched upon getting perhaps a yard away from the man talking to his precious Daddy. Kazekage and Kasuka turned to stare at him. Gaara was, when with his family, rather outgoing, but face him with any stranger and he became the Mama's baby, clinging to Kasuka like his life depended on it.

"This is supposed to be a family day, so you gotta leave now, OKAY?" (There is very much increase in volume when he says "okay". I know a three year old who does that, and oh my god, it is so damn cute.) (Vis is s'posed ta be a fam-wee day, so you gotta weeb now, OTAY? – God, I couldn't help myself! I had to type out the lisp!)

Kasuka and Kazekage exchanged glances, and then started laughing. Confused, Gaara sat down on the ground and started crying. Kasuka ran over and scooped him up, still laughing.

"Oh, don't cry, Gaara-chan! Daddy's not going anywhere! The nice man wants to take a family picture of all of us together, to show that even though Daddy goes to work a lot, he still loves his family. Now, would you please apologize to the nice camera man?"

Gaara stared at the man, and then buried his face into Kasuka's chest, making a whiney noise that signified he wasn't ever speaking to the cameraman ever again. She flashed him a sheepish grin. "Sorry, he doesn't particularly like strangers."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I'm guessing he didn't like me much anyways." the man laughed, adjusting the camera around his neck. Leaning down, he spoke to Gaara this time. "I'm not going to bite your foot off, little one. I just plan on taking a picture."

Gaara made another noise and clung tighter to his mother, bringing his foot up to try to hide it. Kasuka rocked him, then whispered reassuring words to the toddler. Eventually, Gaara let go enough so she could set him on the ground, telling him to go get his siblings.

"Cute little thing." The cameraman remarked.

Kazekage nodded. "Yeah, that's Gaara. Cute as a button but watch out, he will bite."

Kasuka frowned. "I thought we were done with the biting problem!"

"Oh, we are. Mostly." Kazekage said, and then changed the subject. "So, would you like us to pose in any certain manner, do you want it to look natural, or…" He trailed off, leaving his statement open for suggestion.

"Uh, well, I really wanted it to look natural, but with kids that young, and your 2 year old already knowing about it, it's really hard to do, so I was thinking a pose in front of the tube slide would be good."

"…He's three." Kasuka said defensively. For one reason or another, the woman always defended Gaara's age, mostly because he did look like he was only 2.

"Well, then that's a small three year old, excuse me," the cameraman said matter-of-factly.

"Mama, Gaara said that there was a man who was gonna eat us! What's going on here?" Temari said, walking up holding Gaara, who was now clinging to her and nearly glaring at the cameraman.

Sweatdropping, Kasuka took Gaara away from the cameraman, trying to assure him he wouldn't be eaten.

"And where's your brother?" she concluded, asking Gaara.

"Nii-chan's bein' smart and not gettin' eated!" Gaara proclaimed.

"He's not going to eat you!" Kasuka cried for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

Kazekage led them all over to just in front of the slide, smiling and putting his hand on Temari's shoulder.

"Kankurou!" he called out in the direction of the sandbox. "Kankurou, he's not going to eat you!"

The miserable brunette appeared, still pouting. "No, he's gonna make you go to work though, isn't he?" he said, sulkily.

Kazekage frowned. "I think we have a lot of misconceptions here. Gaara, this man is _not_ going to eat you. At all. He eats things we eat. Kankurou, he's not taking me to work. I ordered no calls in today and sent my secretary to do everything. This man is going to take our picture for the newspaper, okay?" he said sternly, showing that he was in no way or form joking.

Gaara frowned, then considered his father's words. After a while, he nodded. "Otay…" Obviously still wary, he clung to Kasuka like his life depended on it. Kankurou stepped into where they were posing and grabbed one of Gaara's little hands, smiling up at his brother in reassurance.

Somewhat reassured, Gaara didn't cling so tightly and even smiled for the camera.

_I think I still have a copy of the newspaper. It was the front page; "Kazekage not too Busy for Family!" and the article was about how many people thought that he was neglecting us. At the time, he wasn't. It also included how protective over our father we were, and they interviewed Gaara. Maybe I'll show you sometime. Everything was perfect, nothing out of place, at least, not for another hour or so. Like I said, we were at that playground for quite a long time that day. I still don't know why, but we were having fun, and I guess that's all that matters._

Some time after the cameraman left, Kankurou found himself on the swings. Gaara had been with him for a little bit, until he fell off the swing and scraped his knee, but he was okay now, although, not with Kankurou. Temari had wormed her way into the sandbox and was adding onto the grand masterpiece that was he and Gaara's sandcastle.

The swings had always calmed him with their lulling motion. Mama had said that as a baby, all she'd need to do was clunk him in a swing, and he'd be fine for a nap. Now, he didn't fall asleep in swings, but they did calm him, and made his leg muscles get stronger when he pumped his legs. That's what Daddy always said, anyways.

His airy musings were pierced when a scream shot through the air. Starting, he twisted his head into the direction of the noise: his mother.

_I'll never forget that scream as long as I live. I don't think any of us will, even Dad._

"M-mama?" he cried out, launching himself from the swing and landing (painfully) on his feet.

Kasuka was making a mad dash for the street. Kankurou didn't think he had ever seen his mother run so fast in his entire five years. Following her direction, he noticed Gaara.

In the middle of the street.

With an oncoming truck.

And, of course, because he was three, he didn't see it or hear it. He was too busy trying to get the ball that had rolled out in the middle. The trucker couldn't see him; the truck was very tall, and Gaara wasn't even three feet.

"GAARA, GET AWAY FROM THE STREET!" he heard his mother cry frantically. When her toddler failed to listen, still, she leapt at him, shoving him out of the way just in time.

_Just in time for _him_ anyways…_

Once the truck had felt he had hit something, and had probably seen Gaara's fearful expression from his window, he must've realized what had happened and pulled over immediately, jumping out with the car still running.

Kazekage had made his way over, fear evident on his face even as the tears streaked down it. Kankurou and Temari followed, close behind, utterly mortified for the sight they knew would await them.

_Let's just say that…you never want to see someone you love get hit by a car like that. The car didn't exactly hit her; it kind of just…ran over her. To the point where she was rather squished down in the middle, and I really hate to remember it, so sorry, Neji, but you're not getting a graphic description on that part. Anyways, of course, we called 911, because some part of us still hoped we could save her. Dad didn't dare to check her pulse. It was like he was in denial._

Sitting in the waiting room, the tension in the room was thick. Tears still silently streaked down Kazekage's face and Kankurou and Temari sobbed freely into their hands or each other.

_That sitting in the waiting room is by far the most awkward, sorrowful thing I've ever done in my entire life, and I know the same applies for Temari. Speaking of, did she get lost or something?_

* * *

As if on cue, a door opened and Temari peaked her head in, apologizing sheepishly for taking so long. 

"I got lost…your house is rather con-"

It was then the blonde noticed the scene. Kankurou was crying, which was a rarity within itself, Gaara was asleep, which was like treason, and even Neji was crying. Something happened.

"He knows." Kankurou said curtly, wiping his eyes again. "Gaara cracked."

Temari sunk to her knees, staring open-mouthed at Neji. "Oh, god…Neji…Neji please don't tell," she whispered. "It'll only get worse…"

"I won't…I promised Gaara…I want to, though. I really do." Neji said honestly.

"I'm explaining," Kankurou said, his gaze on Temari. "Explaining everything."

Temari looked fearful. "E-everything?"

"Everything." He repeated, slower. "From…Gaara's birth…to now. I'm at 'the incident.'" He tried to keep his voice from cracking, but it was useless.

Temari adjusted her position. "Then…I guess you should continue," she whispered, trying to be mindful of the sleeping redhead beside her.

Kankurou nodded, rather shakily, and took a deep breath. Neji instantly felt bad for wanting to know this. He could tell how much it pained the older teen to tell this, but he also knew that he wouldn't stop now. The least he could do was give Kankurou his entire attention.

* * *

_Anyways, wh-where was I? Oh, the waiting room…yeah…it seemed like hours before the nurse came back with Gaara. The poor little thing was spooked. I don't think he ever got the comfort he really needed…_

"Sabaku Kazekage?" the nurse said in the doorway. From behind her emerged Gaara with a bandage wrapped around his head.

The fact he was wounded wasn't terrifying at all; Gaara got hurt all the time. Not this bad, but it didn't scare Temari or Kankurou. What really scared them was the three-year-old's eyes, large, and still fear-filled. He was scarred for life, and they knew it.

Kazekage stood up, fearing the response he knew he'd get.

"While…While your son sustained minor injuries from being shoved out of the way, we regret to inform you…that your wife was killed on impact and there's nothing we can do to save her." She said grimly, avoiding the man's expression.

_It sounds like a soap opera, I know, but that's exactly how it happened. Something clicked in Dad's eyes then. Something…I don't know. Hatred, maybe, anger, most likely, and utter disgust, most definitely, but whatever it was, it started off an entire string of events that has yet to end. Chances are, it still has four years ahead of it._

"I…I see…" Kazekage forced, swallowing hard. Upon hearing these words, Kankurou and Temari had already burst into a fresh set of tears. Seeing their anguish, Gaara couldn't help to join in.

'It's…it's my fault…I…I killed her…I killed Mama…' he thought while sobbing.

The nurse, pitying the small three year old, scooped him up gently, cradling him and trying to assure him that it'd all be okay, and that it most definitely wasn't his fault.

_God, I have no idea how many times I've wished that Gaara would remember that nurse's words instead of what Dad has literally pounded into him…_

After a while, Kazekage mechanically took his son from the kind-hearted woman, silently leading his three grief-stricken children out to his car.

His movements were cold and robotic as he buckled Gaara into his car seat, and for once, the tiny redhead didn't fuss over the possibility of getting pinched.

Fate, of course, being so cruel to this family, had to choose that moment to allow him for the first time to actually get pinched when his father buckled him into the seat. He let out a small yelp, starting from the sudden jolt up his nerves.

"Shut up!" his father said harshly, slamming the door shut and getting into the drivers' seat. Temari and Kankurou exchanged nervous glances. Daddy never acted like this before.

_We should've known that nothing would ever be right again. We should've known, but we didn't. Not until a week after the accident._

Temari winced and covered her ears when the yelling from downstairs began again. She didn't know what Gaara had done this time, but it seemed that after Mama died, there was a lot more yelling and a lot more cans of the stuff she, Kankurou, and Gaara weren't allowed to drink.

Oh, they were still mourning. Just in their separate ways. Gaara had taken to being nearly silent, that haunted look never leaving his once smiling face. He cried a lot more often, now, and suddenly had a loss of appetite.

Kankurou had mellowed down immensely instead of playing with his toys like he used to. He spent long hours in his room alone, and Temari had no clue what he did in here.

_I contemplated life. Why it had to be so cruel to us, and why Dad always yelled. It seemed that Gaara was always doing something wrong in some shape or form, and it didn't seem right, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Not until…'it' began._

Temari had suddenly been faced with being the only female in the house, and decided that as such, she would have to grow up and start acting like a mother, too. Although she couldn't cook or do a lot of the cleaning, her height restricting her, she often comforted her baby brother when he started crying, holding him and rocking him like her mother used to do.

_That day was a rather regular one, as far as regular had gotten in our house in that week. Temari and I were upstairs doing our own little thing, Gaara was downstairs being his silent self, usually watching the television or sitting in a dark little corner, often crying, or doing something to make Dad mad. God, I don't even remember what half of it was. Leaving the television on…forgetting to put away toys…it seemed he was always mad at him. And it wasn't right. I should've known._

Kankurou suddenly left his room, a funny look on his face.

"Kanky? Kanky, what are you doing?" she asked softly, surprised at his sudden change in behavior.

"Shh. Listen. I wanna know what he's saying to him. I don't think what he's doing is right, Temari." He said, as serious as he had ever been in his five years.

They listened, straining their ears a little, although, it didn't matter; the screams were rather loud. They must've scared Gaara; he hated it when people screamed.

_He still does._

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! I TOLD YOU TO TURN THE DAMN THING OFF!"

Kankurou and Temari gasped. Daddy never swore. Ever. It was unheard of.

_We should've known that to be a bad omen too, the swearing. Looking back on it, he was drunk._

Kazekage continued to yell at the toddler, telling him he was a worthless piece of shit and didn't deserve to live.

"AND FURTHERMORE, YOU'RE A _**MURDERER!**_" The harsh word was followed by a loud, sharp slap.

Temari put a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream. Kankurou felt an aura of rage surround him and sprinted downstairs, not prepared for the sight in front of him.

_I thought that was too far. A slap. Nowadays, Gaara's lucky if he gets away with something twice as bad as that. And I mean real lucky._

When he got there, Gaara was bawling. His father stood over the three-year-old, his hand still raised like he'd hit him again. He gave the man an even glare, walking over to stand in front of his crying brother.

"Go away, Kankurou. You did nothing wrong." Kazekage said slowly, dangerously.

_That voice gave me nightmares for a week. I'm able to be unaffected by it, but Gaara has yet to learn that. It's his manipulative voice._

Kankurou gulped, then shook his head. "I-I'm not gonna let you h-hit him again." He stammered nervously. This was the first time he had ever stood up to an adult.

"He deserves to be hit, Kankurou." The calm yet dangerous voice was slurred. Kankurou could smell the alcohol on his father's breath.

"No…Dad…Dad, it wasn't his fault! It c-couldn't have been his fault!"

That's what Uncle Yashamaru had told him.

That's what the nurse said, too.

It wasn't his fault.

"Kankurou, get the fuck out of the way!" he yelled, shoving him away. When Kankurou tried to come back, he screamed louder. "GO! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Terrified, Kankurou bolted up the stairs tears streaking down his face. Temari enveloped him in a hug. Crying into her chest, they both tried to block out the noise of the blows and Gaara's cries and pleas for him to stop.

_It scared us. More than anything we'd ever seen or heard before._

Sometime later, Kankurou heard light footfalls on the stairs and determined because of their slow speed and clumsiness, that it was Gaara. He nearly flew down the stairs and scooped up the three year old, which wasn't hard because of his size.

He waited until all three of them were together in Temari's room, Gaara him his arms, before really checking him over.

_It wasn't as bad as it could've been, but seeing your three year old brother bruised, bleeding, and crying and knowing it was your father's fault is a rather scary experience in itself._

"Gaara-chan, I'm so sorry…I should've stopped him!" Kankurou exclaimed softly. Gaara's tears were still flowing and his heart was beating rapidly in his tiny chest.

He was terrified.

"N-no….I…I deserved it….I killed Mama…" he protested distantly.

"Gaara, don't believe him! You didn't kill Mama; Mama saved you 'cause she wanted to! Remember what Uncle Yasha said?" Kankurou was horrified his baby brother had actually believe those words.

"B-but Daddy said-"

"What Daddy said doesn't matter anymore," Temari said shortly, wrapping an arm around both her little brothers. "We learned 'bout this in school, remember Kanky? It's called child abuse, and we're s'posed to report it." she said matter-of-factly.

Gaara looked, if possible, more horrified than before.

"NO NO! Tem-chan! Please, no! Y-you can't tell, he said he'd do it again and it'd be so much worse if I told and and and-"

"Shh…Gaara, it's okay." Kankurou interrupted his rant, rocking slowly. "Temari…I don't think we can tell anyone about this…" he said slowly.

_Temari swears I was a genius back then just for considering all of this. I don't know where it came from myself, but it _is_ true._

"And why not?" the older girl protested, sounding rather miffed about being denied of what she thought was right.

"Daddy's the leader of the village, right?"

"…Yeah…" Temari still didn't see what he was getting at.

"So, he makes all the rules, right?"

"…Uh-huh…"

"If we were to tell anyone, do you really think they'd believe a five, six, and three year old about their precious "Kazekage-sama" hurting his child?"

"…No…" Temari said miserably, hugging Gaara gently. "It won't happen again…right?" she asked the three-year-old softly.

Gaara merely shrugged. It seemed that the happy toddler he had once been was a thing of the past, and this was their present.

_And it all just got worse until it's at the point where it's everyday mostly, at least twice a day. I know it's severe. I know it needs to be stopped. But they believe us even less now. See, we tried to stop it, they just told Dad and he hurt _us_ that time. I'm glad he didn't take it out on Gaara, but I wish our plan would've worked. As for the damn demon? He's supposed to be_ protecting _Gaara from all this shit and he doesn't. He kept his thing up for Gaara sleeping for the first five years, but then there's this…sand shield type thing that's supposed to protect him from anything dangerous. I guess it got petty and didn't want to use it when he was allowing his host to sleep. It listens to_ Dad_, though. It thinks it owes Dad a _debt_ for giving him a humanoid host._

Kankurou sighed, avoiding Neji's eyes.

"And that's it. That's how we came to be."

* * *

And viva la chapter! God, this is a tearjerker. Very much so. I should put a tearjerker warning in the summary… 


	20. Neji's STory

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: You know what I've realized? Other than the fact that since chapter…. 15, I think, we've been on the same day, this story is nearly done! I'd say only…5-7 chapters left at the most. I'm so proud; I'm actually finishing a story!

Disclaimer: Doobee doobee doooo…

* * *

Neji stared at the crying siblings before him. He had never imagined Kankurou – the one who threatened to fight him in the halls – as the type who would cry. Temari, he could somewhat understand, and Gaara seemed like the kind of kid who would cry if you kicked him, but not Kankurou. 

"Hey…it's…" he wanted to tell them it was okay, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "It's…not okay…but it can be."

"We can't tell anyone!" Temari said suddenly. "It'll only get worse! That's all that happens! The rumor will just be dismissed and he'll make us move again, Neji! That's what happened last time!"

"But what if they check out Gaara?" Neji, now knowing their secret, could look at Gaara and see how obvious it was – the thin frame, shaky speech, flinching problem, and of course, the bruises his baggy, old clothing couldn't hide. If someone told the police, that would be exactly what they looked for. And that would be exactly what they'd find.

"Dad won't let them," Kankurou said, shaking his head. "A few of the smarter ones tried last time."

"Oh…" Neji said, very much disappointed that his great-rescue plan failed.

They sat in silence for a while, letting everything sink in.

"You…you know…" Neji started after a while, wringing his hands in his lap. "I…ah…went through some abuse – nothing like _this _– when I was little…"

Kankurou looked surprised. "Y-you too?" he asked.

Neji nodded sadly, not meeting his gaze. "Yeah…but it stopped when I was eight…" he mumbled.

They heard Gaara groan softly in his sleep from Neji's bed. Temari and Kankurou stood up at the same time, ready to check if he was okay.

After a moment, in which Gaara had apparently slipped into peaceful slumber again, rolling over on his side, Kankurou smiled softly and sat back down, muttering something about probably disturbing some of his wounds.

Neji sighed. There was really no way he was going to get out of telling his tale now that he had mentioned it.

"See…my mom…she was a really nice person. But, my actual dad divorced herbefore I was born; he didn't want a baby, she did, and she remarried to someone else when I was less than a year old," he started, looking up.

Kankurou and Temari nodded, picturing it. No parent was really abusive from the absolute start – they and Neji were examples of this. What he described could've been as normal as any other kid.

"My mom really loved my step dad, and since I had no clue who my real dad was, I did too. It didn't really matter anyways, considering I was a spitting image of my mother. I didn't even know he wasn't my real dad until…"it" started, really." Pausing again to let them take in the slight bit of information, he sighed shakily. He hadn't ever addressed it, even after seven years.

Kankurou nodded again, taking a slight glance at Gaara. To his surprise, his younger brother had one eye cracked open, and as soon as he saw Kankurou's gaze, he snapped it shut. Kankurou smiled in spite of himself; Gaara had always been horrible at being sneaky.

"I…was six when my mom got into a car accident…I was in the backseat, and the crash sent her into an airbag and me into the front of her seat. I knocked myself out pretty good, but I was okay with the exception of a few gashes on my left side from where some of the metal got me…"

He sighed again, his shoulders shaking.

"She suffocated," he said finally, having to wipe tears from his eyes. He had never wanted to look back on the situation, or the events that had followed it.

Kankurou kept his gaze down, not sure how and if he should be sympathetic. Temari reached out and touched his arm, concern written all over her features.

Neji sniffed and shook his head, composing himself. "Of course, since I never knew my real dad, I was put under the custody of my step dad. Everything was okay, at first…until after the funeral. For reasons I could never comprehend, and I still don't, he blamed me. He said it was my fault, that I must've been distracting my mother from the road and to myself, making her get into the accident and die."

At this, Kankurou nodded in understanding. Their father blamed Gaara for eleven years and counting, so he could see where Neji was coming from.

"At first, I believed it. Although I couldn't remember making a single noise in the car, I thought that it must've been my fault. When my Uncle Hiashi, my mother's brother, confronted me a week after the funeral, he had told me that it wasn't my fault, and his words were so kind and comforting that I believed him more than the man I thought of as my father."

Temari snorted. No one had ever tried reassuring Gaara except for herself, Kankurou, and their uncle Yashamaru. However, the small three year old had already been thoroughly convinced that it _was _his fault, and refused to take anyone else's words that it wasn't.

"So, of course, I went home, and bravely told him that it wasn't my fault, because Uncle Hiashi had said so. That was the first beating. I believe he was drunk at the time. I was scared, terrified; any six year old would've been. I hid in my room for a while, wondering why he had done it. I came to the conclusion that it had been because I was bad, and that it was my fault; Uncle Hiashi had been wrong. Accepting this, I guess I kind of sank into the pattern of life that followed."

Gaara couldn't help, from the bed where he laid, a sniffle at Neji's words. The older boy had no idea how much those words affected him, since in that aspect, they were so much alike.

"I was…eight when my uncle invited me over to go swimming. I had forgotten about a lot of bruises, recent and dark, that had been on my torso, and as soon as I pulled off my shirt, he saw. And when he saw, he knew."

'I've never learned how to swim, for that reason,' Gaara thought absently still busy trying to be asleep. 'Poor Neji…at least he managed to get out of it…'

He couldn't help but be a little bit jealous. Neji had people who cared enough to get him out of the situation he had been in, while everyone in Sunaga, no matter how obvious and pronounced some of his 'battle scars' were, didn't give a shit.

"So…I take it…that he took you away? Just like that?" Kankurou asked, slightly amazed at how easy it seemed.

"No. He had to go through court," Neji replied, simply. "My step-dad was one hell of a liar. He almost managed to prove that he hadn't done that, but my word was final, and Uncle Hiashi taught me to just say the truth, so I did."

Kankurou nodded, understanding now. Neji's purity of being only eight years old had shone through and gotten him out of the situation he was in. He was afraid that by now, it was too late to be able to do something like that; Gaara would merely take their father's side out of fear. But then again, his markings were so obviously inflicted by someone else, that they'd immediately assume it to be their father…unless he blamed him or Temari…

Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to where Neji was answering a few questions she had asked. Finding that he didn't need to be involved, he glanced at Gaara, and noted that once again, the redhead's eyes were open.

His face twitched into a tiny smile; Gaara was no good at feigning anything. Frowning when he remembered that Gaara needed the sleep, he decided to speak up and give away Gaara's flimsy disguise.

"Hey, Gaara, I thought you were going to sleep."

Gaara jumped, embarrassed about being discovered, and stammered into an apology, sitting up in the process. Upon seeing him so flustered, and therefore downright adorable, Neji couldn't help a small giggle, which Gaara returned with more flushing.

"So…you heard?" Temari asked, seriously, but trying to be casual with the topic.

Gaara hesitated, unsure if he should tell them he had eavesdropped, but then nodded, convinced it couldn't really do any harm.

Neji looked somewhat relieved. "Oh, good, that means I don't have to tell it twice! See…to tell you the truth; I've never confronted it since I was taken away. I never felt that…it was needed. It was in the past, and the past was gone, nothing I could do. You guys, my uncle, my cousin Hinata, and obviously, my step-dad and I are the only ones that know…"

"Oh, we w-won't tell an-anyone!" Gaara assured him frantically, eyes wide. Neji smiled.

"Thanks…that means a lot."

Glancing at the clock, Neji was surprised to find that their combined stories had taken 'till 11 o'clock. "We should really get to bed…we _do _have school in the morning," he pointed out.

Kankurou nodded. "Yeah…but…we don't have any clothes to change into…at all. Not for pajamas, which isn't really a big deal, or for school tomorrow."

Neji considered this. Hinata could probably provide Temari with some clothes. They were nearly the same size, he estimated. Kankurou, he really wasn't so sure, but if worst came to worst, his uncle could probably lend him some clothes. Damn his short genes.

One look at Gaara told him that there was no way he was going to be able to find something to fit him, at least by means of pants. When he voiced this, Gaara flushed and waved it off.

"I-I'll really be okay…these pants are…ki-kinda clean…" he trailed off, looking down at his legs, which had been clothed by pants among the lot they had bought at Hot Topic. That day seemed so long ago…

Temari frowned, being somewhat stern with clean clothing. They figured it to be a maternal instinct she had developed. "Gaara, your pants have dirt and food stains all over them."

"Th-they do _not!_" Gaara protested, blushing furiously.

Kankurou chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past you; God knows how you like to wear your food."

Neji smiled gently. "I'm sure we can find a solution…maybe I could get you a pair of shorts and a belt…" he mused aloud, trailing off in thought.

Gaara shook his head, grimly. "M-my leg…" He pulled up one pant leg to reveal the still very bruised and very swollen shin, making it obvious that he didn't really want anyone to be gawking at it anymore than they had in physical education.

Neji stared. If he hadn't seen Gaara walk, and only with a slight limp, he would've assumed immediately that the appendage had been broken. "Y-your….your father…di-did he…?" he couldn't get the sentence out coherently, reduced to a stammering wreck.

Kankurou nodded slowly. "Yeah…he did it."

"B-but th-that's…that's _horrible!_" Neji proclaimed, regaining control of himself.

"Yeah, and unfortunately, that's not the worst of it," Kankurou said sadly. "Either way, if you wear your shorts as long as I tend to wear mine, Gaara shouldn't have much of a problem."

"Yeah, but Kankurou, you have a good five inches on me," Neji pointed out, somewhat bitter about his height.

Kankurou blinked. "I do?"

Temari shook her head. "You always forget how tall you are…yeah, five inches is a good estimate."

"Well…" Neji thought again, determined to sort all this out before morning came. An idea suddenly struck him. "Gaara, how tall are you?"

Gaara flushed, mumbling his response.

"5 foot," Kankurou supplied.

"Hmm…" Neji thought for a while longer, then muttered he'd be back in a moment and dashed out the room.

"HANAAABIII!" He called out, running from hallway to hallway. "HANAAA-"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" came the somewhat annoying voice of his cousin.

"Hanabi! How tall are you?" Neji chirped.

"Why do you want to know?" the younger girl said, kind of suspiciously.

"Well, see…I have this friend. And he and his siblings need to spend the night because of the storm, so-"

"WHAT? You have friends over? They're spending the night on a school night? NO. FAIR!" she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let me finish," Neji hissed through gritted teeth, already fed up with his cousin. "They can't walk home in a storm like this; they'll probably die, but they don't have clothes to change into. We figure that the oldest one can borrow Hinata's clothes, the middle one can either borrow mine or Uncle Hiashi's if he really needs to, but the youngest one is really small, like, only 5'0", and really thin, so I was wondering if you had any clothes he could possibly wear."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "Okay," she started, jutting out one hip and flipping her hair. "One: You have a _girl_ sleeping over?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Hanabi screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Neji. "Two: Even if I _was _as tall or taller of this friend of yours, what makes you think I would lend clothes to him even if I had something that wasn't too _feminine _for his masculinity?"

It was times like these that Neji hated the fact that most of his family happened to be geniuses.

"Three: Even if said friend didn't mind and could fit into my clothes, what if he was _dirty_ or _messy_ and ruined them?" Hanabi demanded, glaring evenly up at her older cousin.

"Hanabi, just answer the question! What's your height and are you willing to give this kid clothes?" Neji snapped, finally.

"I'm 4'10". I _might _still be able to help him, though, depending on his leg length. Let me see these friends," she demanded again, crossing her arms back over her chest.

Neji sighed, massaging his temples. "_Fine_."

He led her back to his bedroom, where he knew the occupants inside were probably having some conversation or another.

"…I d-don't w-wanna b-be a bu-burden…"

"Gaara, you're _not_!"

"Shh, someone's coming."

Neji opened the door and peered inside, smiling while Hanabi was at his side, scrutinizing each of the Sabaku siblings with her gaze. "Hey, guys. This is my cousin, Hanabi." He gestured uselessly to the girl beside him. "She might be able to help you out, Gaara."

Hanabi had finished her inspections of the three and pointed a finger at Temari. "You're a hag, but you wouldn't look half bad in Hina-nee-chan's clothes." She pointed at Kankurou. "You don't dress like Neji-nii or Daddy, but I'm sure you wouldn't look bad in either of their clothes. And _you,_" she pointed at Gaara, who immediately shriveled behind Kankurou.

She paused for a moment. "I can't tell how long your legs are, that's the key here, so if you want clothes, come over here."

Neji sighed. Hanabi obviously got her business-like manner from her father, but she tended to use it to be rather snotty. He didn't even think his uncle knew just how much he really spoiled his two children and nephew. Only Hanabi had really gotten a swelled head over the entire thing.

Gaara glanced nervously from Kankurou to Neji, who both gave him reassuring looks before standing up and shuffling over to where the shorter, but nonetheless intimidating girl stood.

"Hm…I don't know if my waist-size will fit him," she said at once, seeing the illusion that the baggy shirt presented, hiding Gaara's actual size in its depths.

"Oh, I think you'll be surprised," Kankurou called mysteriously.

Undaunted, Hanabi turned away and began to walk in the opposite direction, probably to her room. Gaara gave Neji a look that quite plainly asked if he should follow. Neji nodded and smiled, sending him another reassuring glance. Shyly, and with a moment of hesitation, Gaara followed.

* * *

"Okay, now, I really don't have too much that you, as a boy, could wear comfortably, but I'll take a look in here," Hanabi chirped, making her way over to a closet. When she opened the door, Gaara gaped: Inside hung what seemed to be hundreds of pairs of pants. 

Hanabi rummaged around for a while in its depths, leaving Gaara rooted to the spot, before emerging with three pairs of sweatpants and a pair of athletic pants.

"I really don't think any of these will fit you, I'm a girl, you're a boy, and you don't look like you could fit into someone _my_ size's clothing." Hanabi concluded with an air of snootiness. "But if you're willing to try them on, be my guest."

She pointed to a changing curtain across the room and ushered Gaara, who had become rather shy about the entire thing, behind it.

"Jeez…I've never seen such a shy teenaged boy in my life!" she muttered, waiting for the redhead to emerge.

When he did, it was first wearing the first pair of sweatpants, which were gray. Short as he was, the material still only hung to a little above his ankles, not clinging to his legs at the bottom like sweatpants should do, but hanging there much like cutoffs.

Surprised that he could fit, Hanabi blinked. "Pull up your shirt," she said slowly. "So I can see how it fits around the waist."

Here, Gaara hesitated, and almost wanted to refuse, but thought that the little girl in front of him could be rather dangerous if he didn't, so he shyly pulled the edge of his black hoodie up to reveal where he had pulled the pants up to and a sliver of white stomach.

In a rare moment of size, Gaara had found that the pants weren't abnormally loose, but they weren't as tight as they should've been, either. Rather appalled, Hanabi shook her head.

"They fit you, anorexic freak, but they're way too short." She spat the insult like Gaara was something dangerous, and added. "The sweatpants are all the same size and the athletic pants shorter. Sorry, I can't help you." She ended curtly.

Gaara had flinched at the insult and gone rather red in the face, but trudged back behind the curtain and changed back into his own pants, folding up the pants are carefully as he could, which was still sloppy, and handing them to her.

"S-sorry for b-bothering you…" he muttered as he shuffled out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

He blinked at the foreign hallway before his thoughts collected and he found he remembered the way to Neji's room. When he got back, everyone had seemed to be in a conversation involving random video games.

"Yeah…that one you played was fucked up, but some of those Mario ones kind of scare me," Kankurou was saying as he opened the door.

As soon as it shut, everyone turned to him.

"So, how did it go?" Neji asked politely. Gaara shook his head and sank to the floor, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"Are you okay?" Temari asked, tilting her head to the side, slightly.

Gaara opened his mouth to speak, but then seemed to decide against it and shook his head, keeping silent.

"She wasn't rude, was she?" Neji asked, somewhat in exasperation.

"N-no! I was t-the one t-taking t-time out of h-her e-evening!"

"Speaking of evening, what's a brat like her doing up so late?" Temari growled, begrudgingly.

"She doesn't have a bedtime…none of us do. We're all kind of spoiled, but she's the only one who gets irrational and snobby about it," Neji explained. "Please Gaara, tell me what she said. I know she can be a brat sometimes," he coaxed the depressed looking redhead.

"Sh-she…called me a….a-an anorexic f-freak…" Gaara mumbled after a while, speaking into his knees.

Kankurou's eyes widened in anger; a lot of people called Gaara anorexic…and each time was always a stab to the younger teens nonexistent ego.

Neji, sensing Kankurou's anger, stood up. "I'm going to go talk to her about that…she can be so damn rude sometimes…I'm sorry, Gaara," he added. "I don't think you're anorexic. It's not your fault you're so thin."

Gaara didn't respond, but that was okay, so Neji turned and walked out of the room, determined to give Hanabi a little piece of his mind.

* * *

UGGH…I'M SO SORRY! This is SO short and you people have totally been waiting for this for SO long! But…hey, what can I say? Okay, okay, I'm going to recap my vacation, just so you know what the fuck I've been up to that's hindered you from your precious chapters! 

**ANIME CONVENTION. **Oh. My. Fucking. God. It. Was. Great. Okay, I'll stop talking like that. I wented with my dearest cousin and…somewhat faithful (joking, joking) reviewer, Kanky-chan, who was a punkish/modern Kanky, and I gotted to be a punkish/modern Gaara. Fun. Fun. Fun. Okay, I promise I'll stop talking like that! See, I have this raccoon moshi pillow, and I decided to bring it with me and dub him Shuuki. People _loved _it! They were like "OMIGOOOOOD…." And they had improv and holy fuckcake that was awesome. It was so damn funny, these people just made up stupid skits on the spot based on a topic that the audience usually picked out. Like, at one point, it was looking for a Tim Horton's in Pennsylvania, and since this was in Oshawa, Canada, they were like "Dude. We are _never _getting coffee in the states AGAIN!" and it was just so amusing.

And later, the organizer lady of the convention, who we knew as Tsunade-sama, decided that she liked Kanky-chan's Karasu so much, she made us do a skit for the Masquerade. We were like "………." But we finally did a thing where I got to throw Shuuki and upon being parted from my demon, died. Fun fun.

And that's not _all _that happened! We went to a Renaissance Festival later on, and we saw an Itachi cosplayer with an Inuyasha cosplayer. I don't even particularly _like _Itachi (Okay, I like him in FHTE…that's basically it though.) but this guy was a smexy BEAST. I gotted to glomple him! n.n! And so did Kanky-chan, but later. Ha. I glomped him FIRST. …Okay, that's enough of this rant…I think I'll just copy-paste it into Haunted…I am so lazy. Either way, happy happy happy happy updates anddd…BAI BAIS! See you next chapter!

Oh, and another note, dude, I made Hanabi SO snotty in this! I kind of based her off of Draco Malfoy's character (Even though I love Draco...fanfic character wise, anyways.) in Harry Potter, since I've been reading and rereading the series in my spare time. ...AKA when Kanky-chan is on. AKA HALF THE DAY. COUGH COUGH. Okay, okay, I'm better!


	21. Asthma and spit wads and bookbags, oh my

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: I'm on like…a role here. Updating, updating, updating!

Disclaimer: I own nada!

* * *

The next morning came very quickly, Gaara noted, even though he hadn't slept at all. Sometime through the night, he had slipped on the pants Neji had loaned to him. He couldn't find a belt nearby, and he didn't feel like snooping, so the pants would slip down if he stood up, but he had rolled up the legs so they dangled at a good length for him. 

It was now 4:30, and he was wondering when Neji got up. He knew that Temari usually woke up at five and Kankurou around six thirty, but he hadn't bothered to ask Neji.

Neji…there were a lot of things he had never bothered to tell Neji…

He shook his head to clear it. He couldn't like Neji like that…his father would kill him. He knew for a fact that he was extremely homophobic, and he was, if possible, worse when he was freaked out than when he was drunk.

But, still, he couldn't help himself. Deep down inside, he knew that he liked Neji…like that. The only thing was, he was sure Neji didn't feel the same. That was a big factor in all of this.

In all truth, he couldn't really be absolutely sure that what he had for Neji was something like a crush. He had never had a crush on anyone before. The only people he really loved were Kankurou, Temari, his mother, and his father.

Kankurou said it wasn't right to love him anymore, after all he had done, but Gaara couldn't help it. Those three years of perfection and ecstasy had stuck with him. He didn't think he could ever forget the kind-hearted, loving father he had used to have. Deep down, he hoped that man was still there, covered up by years of hatred, anguish, and alcohol.

If he knew how to fish him out, he would. For anything, he would.

Just like he would give anything at the moment to know how Neji felt. It was kind of nerve-wracking, not knowing if Neji was gay or not, and a lot of possibilities pointed to him being straight. Normally, he'd be able to let go and live on. Hadn't he been able to deal with rejection most of his life? But for some reason, he thought that to have Neji reject him and brand him a freak, the fact that he _was _one not being that point, could be the final straw. He didn't know what he would do then.

**Suicide sure as hell isn't an option.**

Gaara jumped. He hadn't been expecting the demon to be snooping into his musings.

'I know…please…just go away…'

**Hn. You sure sound a lot more confident in your head than you do when you talk.**

Thankfully, these were the sand-incarnate's last words, and he left Gaara alone.

Someone stirred on the floor next to him, and Gaara jumped, expecting to be hit.

"Relax, kid…jeez…"

Gaara blinked. It was only Kankurou. Suddenly, a florescent light filled the room (Kanky-chan knows what I'm talking about XDD) and Gaara had to squint from the brightness of it.

"Ahhh…dammit, it's only five…I'm not gonna be able to get back to sleep…" Kankurou muttered, sitting up and stretching. The light had completely faded now, and the room seemed darker than before.

"D-do you know what t-time Neji g-gets up?" Gaara asked, wondering if he had just zoned out and missed something.

"Nah, he didn't say anything." The older teen was never really a morning person, but he did tend to become fully awake quickly with someone to talk to. "I guess there's nothing really to do except get dressed."

He got up, made his way over to where a small pile of clothing was, and picked up the pants, cringing. "Something tells me that these are gonna be really short…" he mused aloud, but slipped off his pants (RELAX, PEOPLE, he's wearing boxers!) and put on Neji's pair.

He was correct, the pants didn't even make it to his ankles, but they fit fine around the waist. Gaara had a feeling that would happen. Because of their father, all three of them were hardly fat; Kankurou was just barely a medium build, Temari a slim, and Gaara beyond that.

"I think I might just need to make it through with a pair of shorts…they can't really be too short…" he muttered, sliding on Neji's borrowed shirt.

It was then Gaara remembered that he hadn't asked Neji for a shirt, and as it was, people were beginning to note that he had worn the same shirt to school every day for three days, now. It was kind of hard to forget, now that he thought about it, since it was emblazoned in large, shiny, eye-catching font:

"Do _you_ have ADD?"

Kankurou had laughed when he saw it, and immediately purchased it. They more or less shared shirts, even though most of Kankurou's hung off Gaara like he was draped in a large, usually black sheet.

"H-hey…K-kankurou?" he started, very shy.

"Mm?" The older boy was currently preoccupied with trying to find a way to yank the pants down his hips and not make himself look extremely ghetto.

"U-um…I…ah…I…I…-"

"You can tell me. Jeez, I'm not gonna like…kill you for saying something 'selfish' in your book."

"I…" Gaara sighed. He could do this. He _knew _he could. "I…I need a-a shirt…" he mumbled finally, looking at the ground.

Kankurou blinked. "You do? Well…actually, come to think of it, you haven't changed your shirt in days, have you? God, you hardly smell at all! Amazing, kid," he complemented. "But, yeah, that thing is very eye-catching. You're gonna want to change…my shirt probably isn't better, I've been wearing this thing since last Friday…"

Gaara blinked. "A week?"

"Yeah, what can I say? Laundry never gets done at home."

"That's because we don't have a washer or a dryer and no one ever has money for the cleaners," Gaara remarked matter-of-factly.

"Meh. Either way, I'm sure we can get Neji to lend you a shirt."

At this, Gaara flushed darkly. Neji was really doing too much for him, way too much, considering he was absolutely worthless. "It's okay…if he doesn't…. you've gone a week, I've gone three days…"

"Yeah, well mine's very black and yours tests for ADD," Kankurou retorted. "You need another shirt."

"…Fine…" Gaara gave up his steam in an argument very quickly, and this time was no exception.

Nearby, they could hear Neji stirring and decided to keep their mouths shut until he woke up.

* * *

"You really should've woken me up!" Neji exclaimed, not really angry with either of the two teenagers, but being very hurried. This had been the second day in a row he had woken up late – he needed to get back on schedule. 

"Now," he muttered, mostly to himself, "a shirt…" he dug through the drawers, pretending to not notice Gaara, who was freaking out and trying to assure him that it was okay.

"No, no, you need a shirt. The authorities at school will start suspecting shit," he said simply, not meaning it to be a threat, but Gaara took it as one. His face went white and rigid, his hands going to his face and pressing themselves against his mouth.

"Oh, god…oh, no…oh, no, no, no, no, NO!" he whispered at first, his voice getting increasingly louder until it was nearly a scream, tears filling his eyes, then he started rambling, his breath hitching.

"Wh-what if they've al-already figured it o-out, I m-mean I've g-gone to sc-school we-wearing the s-same clothes f-for a w-w-week on-once, an-and I-Iruka-sensei, oh _G-god_, I-iruka-se-sensei is s-so worried al-already-"

He broke off into a violent coughing fit that made him double over with the force. Neji's eyes widened, and he quickly tossed aside the shirt he was going to give the younger teen.

"Breathe, Gaara!" he cried, embracing him and pulling him tight against his chest.

Gaara shook his head, his petite frame wracking from the force of his coughs, trying to force some air into his lungs.

"K-KANKUROU!" Neji shouted, rubbing circles on the redhead's back. He inwardly winced when he could feel his ribs and his spine all-too clearly.

Kankurou rushed in. "What's wro-" he spotted Gaara, obviously having some kind of attack and swore loudly.

"Temari!" He called. "Temari, do you carry your inhaler with you everywhere?"

He could hear Temari's voice from down the hall. "No…why?"

"He's flippin' out!" Kankurou called, panicked. "What other methods are there?"

"Um…um…if it's not too bad an attack, try to get through to him and get him to calm down!" she called back, sounding worried, now.

Kankurou took a few nervous steps, then bent down and started whispering things into the redhead's ear. Neji caught things like '…won't hurt…' '… Neji, Temari…' and '…it's okay…'. After a few, long moments, Gaara took one shallow, shuddery breath, clutching his chest and leaning fully against Neji.

"A-are you okay…?" The raven-haired teen asked tentatively, keeping a hand resting gently on the redhead's back.

"I'm…fine…" Gaara managed between pants. After another minute of regaining his breath, he pushed off of Neji and instead sat on the bed. The older boy handed him the shirt he'd be loaning him.

"It'll probably be huge on you, but it's somewhat small on me, so there you go."

Gaara nervously fidgeted on the bed while eyeing the tee shirt. Neji thought for a moment why he was getting so twitchy, and then a light bulb went off. "If you don't want to change in here, the bathroom is open," he offered, going back to rummaging in his drawers, though he had found everything he needed.

* * *

They were just about ready to go to school before Temari remembered that their books and such were still at their house. 

"Kankurou, what if he's still home?" she asked, biting her lip.

"He shouldn't be," Kankurou told her, knowingly. "He always leaves the house around 7, and it's 7:30, now."

Gaara nodded in agreement, and the four of them set off for the house, pretty much carefree about the moment. When they turned the corner, however, they stopped dead when they saw their father's car inhabiting the driveway.

Neji noticed the effects of this immediately. Gaara gasped loudly and started shaking. Kankurou had to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him to calm down, but Neji noticed there was a nervous edge to his voice. Temari had swallowed nervously, and suddenly, her shoes were extremely interesting.

"Are you guys gonna be okay?" Neji asked after a moment. None of them looked particularly ready to go inside and retrieve their after-school stuff, at least, not with their father home.

After a moment, Kankurou swallowed and glared at the house. "I'll go in and get them. They're all in our rooms, aren't they?"

"M-mine's in yours…" Gaara told him quietly. "A-and…isn't D-dad mad at you for c-cussing him out on th-the phone?"

Kankurou felt himself losing his nerve. He had forgotten about that. "Hey, if you go in there, then he'll probably hurt you worse than he'd hurt me."

Temari gasped. "Well, if he's gonna hurt you, then why can't I go in?"

He gave her a stern look. "I'm not risking that."

"But he won't hurt me! He's mad at you, he'll hurt you!"

"He's probably drunk!" Kankurou declared, and both his siblings looked down, knowing it was true. "He'll probably hurt you just for staying over there with us! Temari, you're his favorite, but he's not afraid to hurt any one of us. You know that," he told her. "I'm going in to get them, and if he tries anything, I'll toss the bags out the nearest window. If I don't come with them, then whatever, I'll be fine."

Gaara gasped loudly, eyes wide. "B-but…" he knew from experience that staying home with their father all day when he was drunk could likely get you killed. The last time he had had to was when he had gotten pneumonia when he was 12. For a while, their dad had taken care of him, and it had gotten his hopes up, but as soon as it looked like he'd be okay, he started up again.

"Don't worry. I fight back," Kankurou said, grinning. "Now, you just wait here, and I'll be back, I swear." He tried not to make it look like he was scared; he needed to be strong for his little brother, and even though Temari had nine months on him, she was still his sister, and he'd protect her, too.

He made his was to the doorway of the house, squaring his shoulders, and yanked open the door, stepping inside. As quietly as he closed the door, he still heard a shout from upstairs.

"WHO'S THERE?"

Kankurou winced. He was awake, pissed, and drunk. He needed to get upstairs to grab their bags…but avoiding his father would be impossible.

Quietly, he snuck up the stairs, being sure to avoid any creaky areas. He had been here long enough to know exactly where they were in the house. The hallway was going to be a trickier feat to accomplish unnoticed, however. Temari's room was first, the first room on the left, so he silently went in and scooped up her bag. Shouldering it, he made his way back out the hallway, and gulped.

His father's room was open, and he hadn't noticed him yet, but he would unless he timed it so that he wasn't looking as he passed by. Taking one tiptoed step, Kankurou gulped, considering his options. He heard another empty bottle crash to the floor, shattering upon contact, and his father got up to get another one.

Now was his chance.

Sneaking quickly and silently over, he was right in front of his room. He remembered only a second too late that there was a loud creak right in front of it, and in his hurry, he stepped on it. He took a sharp intake of breath; his father had good hearing and would've heard that. He dashed into the room, scooped up his and Gaara's bags, and ran for it.

His father, although drunk, was fast, and Kankurou was weighed down by the combined weight of three high school students' bags.

'Shit, I'm not gonna make this!' he thought, thinking fast and dashing into Temari's room. He heard a crash that sounded like his father hadn't had the quick thinking or coordination to follow him and went flying down the stairs. He heaved the window open and tossed out all three bags, then caught his breath, his heart racing.

He only took a couple seconds of leisure before standing up again, peeking around the corner of Temari's room. The coast looked clear, so he turned to go down the stairs.

"Thought you could get 'way?" Came a slurred voice from his left. Kankurou gasped and spun around. There, right in front of him, was his father, his eyes glazed from alcohol and his breath reeking of the stuff.

"Thought you coul'…could do an'thing…ya wanted…dintcha? DINTCHA?" he reached over and grabbed Kankurou's chin, forcing him to look him strait in the eye. "ANSWER ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, UNGRA'FUL BAST'RD!" he screeched, spraying Kankurou with spit.

Well now, two could play at that game.

Calling a large wad of mucus to his mouth, Kankurou took aim and fired, hitting the drunken man right in the face.

"Yeah, I did." And he ran.

He could hear his father screaming curses at him as he dashed down the stairs, jumping the last five, but he didn't care. He'd deal with it later. He wrenched open the front door and bolted outside, slamming it behind him. He ran around the side of the house and retrieved his own bag, noting that Temari and Gaara's were gone. That meant they had already left.

He didn't stop running until he saw a very familiar pinprick of red, and even then, he just sped up to a sprint. None of them noticed him at all, even though he was only a good 10 feet behind him, where he could hear the conversation. Temari was in tears.

"H-h-he got caught! G-gaara, we have to go back! We have t-to go back!" she was protesting, burying her head in her hands.

"Nii-chan s-said he'd be okay…" Gaara whispered. "I…I b-believe him…"

"H-he's gonna kill him! H-he's go-gonna be mad at him f-from last n-night a-and-" Kankurou decided it was a good moment to come in. He was only five feet behind them, now.

"Temari, do you really have that little trust in your little brother?" he said, a note of teasing on his voice.

She gasped and spun around. Kankurou instantly felt bad when he saw the tears on her face shine in the morning sunlight. "KANKUROU!" she exclaimed, running over to hug him. He grinned wildly.

"You will _never _believe what I did to him!" he told them both, and then proceeded to tell his story the whole way to school.

* * *

Tah-dah! Chapter…FINISHED! Yep, I'm back from vacation, and I like how this one came out. It kinda seems like the ending to the story…but it's not, we still have some ways to go! Not A LOT a lot…but..you know! 


	22. Counseling and ROMANCE! FINALLY!

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Special thanks to Vindicated (MY HUSBAND! (sparkles)) because I was rereading it and suddenly got hit with the urge to write this! And here I thought I'd be on writers' block for _days_! You guys sure got lucky!

Disclaimer: Dude, Kishimoto would be better off making Sam God than giving me Naruto.

* * *

All through school that day, Kankurou couldn't help but feel extremely proud of himself. While he had never really _feared_ his father, at least, not like Gaara did, he normally wouldn't have dared to do something like he had just done. It made him swell. 

He also knew that he should've been paying attention in science, either to the teacher or Dosu, Zaku, and Kin, who decided he didn't need the lecture at all, but he couldn't help doodling random stick figures being beaten into a scribbled pulp by others.

"Hey!" Zaku whispered loudly, poking him in the side. Kankurou was very ticklish, so he managed to suppress an ungodly squeal, but he still jumped, making his stick figure distort.

"Were you listening to me?" he continued, annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was _saying, _that those druggies we have in 4th hour totally got away with a drug deal right under the sub's nose a few weeks back. Isn't that wild? Kankurou?"

But Kankurou wasn't listening, again. This time, he was paying attention to what was going on with the teacher. A certain redheaded student had walked in from the room behind them and was conversing with Kakashi-sensei in inaudible, but Kankurou was sure stuttering on Gaara's part, whispers. After a minute, Kakashi nodded and bent over a pass. Kankurou wondered if it was for Gaara, but then noticed the blue slip of paper Gaara had clutched in his hands, which he was wringing out of nervous habit.

"Kankurou!" Kakashi called from the front of the class, holding up the pass. "You've been summoned to the counselor's office. You might want to take your stuff with you." He drawled, waiting as Kankurou organized his open and ready for note taking (which was just an image he pulled off to hide the fact he was doodling on the lined paper he should've been writing on) and packed it all up, then raised from his seat.

Gaara was speaking in a hushed whisper to Kakashi again, looking slightly worried. The silver-haired man chuckled softly, and said, loud enough for the rest of the class to hear: "Yeah, sure, you can go back and get your stuff…you only come from the room behind us."

Gaara nodded and quickly made his way to the back of the room and disappeared behind the swinging double doors. Kankurou made his way to the front and took the pass from his teacher, then waited at the front of the room for Gaara to emerge. A few seconds later, he did, straining under the combined weight of his binder, science, math, and world studies book.

They made their way out into the hall together. It was then, when they were closer, that Kankurou realized Gaara's face was paler than usual and his eyes were wide and scared looking. He felt his euphoria dissolve like a t-bone steak in coke. "Gaara, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"K-kankurou, th-the _counselor_ w-wants us…wh-what if he's figured out something?" he asked, an alarmed edge to his voice. "H-he wants to s-speak to all three of us…t-together…"

Kankurou frowned, deep in thought, and then realized something. "But Gaara, our counselor is your 1st hour teacher. How is he going to be counseling us?"

"H-he had to t-take a day in the office t-today…" Gaara explained in his quiet voice. "Wh-where's Temari's class?" In their semi-conversation, they had wandered deep into a cluster of hallways with temporary walls, and Kankurou was sure this wasn't it. "I think we missed it. It's back here, up by your locker," he told him. They backtracked until they found it and peered inside.

The class looked like they were having free time. Most of them were enjoying it, walking around the rooms, conversing and joking with their friends. Temari, however, had stayed in what they both guessed to be her assigned seat. She looked annoyed with the group of boys around her, including a silver haired one with long hair and glasses, an extremely pale boy who probably surpassed Gaara's level and wore what looked to be purple eyeliner, another pale boy, but admittedly good looking with long black hair and (strangest of them all) a blue boy with spiky blue hair.

When they walked in, they could hear snippets of the conversation. It sounded like they were trying to pull Temari in, but they were so far failing.

"Yeah, that kid's always been an ass, do you know him Temari-chan? He plays basketball here…Deidara, the fucking girly bastard. Know who I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, and can you believe it? He accused me of being gay just for wearing violet nail polish! I mean, come _on, _you and Kisame wear it, too, so how come I'm the only 'gay' one?"

"Well, Itachi, you do have a knack for looking rather…well…flaming…I can't say I blame whoever told you…"

"_Deidara_ told me!"

"…"

Kankurou and Gaara generally ignored all of this, but Kankurou couldn't hold back a snigger;Deidara was in his year. He had him in 5th period. The boy was totally gay looking, from his long,blonde hair to feminine features that had even fooled him into thinking that the boy was a girl. It was amusing thatDeidara could call anyone gay,considering his appearance. It amused him.

When he snapped out of his thoughts, Gaara was explaining their predicament to Temari's teacher in his usual shaky voice. Temari had perked up and was trying to listen over the conversation, which was proving difficult, as it had risen in volume.

"Yeah, Sasori looks like a wimp…but he's actually pretty good at basketball."

"No shit? Temari-chan, did you know that?"

"I'm dead serious, he does good on offense. Not as good as _me _of course-"

"Oh, Itachi, you're so full of it!"

Kankurou stopped eavesdropping when he saw the teacher go over to Temari and tell her something, then handed her a pass. She gathered her things, which were already decently organized, unlike how Kankurou's had been, and walked over to the pair of them, curiosity all over her fair features.

"Counselor," Kankurou told her gruffly. Gaara was still looking slightly ill at the prospect of talking, but try as he might, Kankurou could come up with no words of reassurance for his little brother.

"Gaara, maybe it's not what we think it is," Temari provided for him. "Maybe they need to…talk to us because we're new!"

"They would've done it ages ago…" Gaara said miserably. He was obviously not even trying to be slightly optimistic.

They walked in silence until they reached the main offices, where they walked in and stood nervously at the main desk. A lady wearing library specs attached to sequin covered strings that went around her neck looked up in question.

"Um…we're here to see our counselor, Umino-sensei," Temari informed the lady, somewhat shy.

"Oh! You three, yes, yes, he and the principal will see you now," she said kindly, unaware of the effect this caused.

Gaara turned a brilliant shade of green. If there had been any hope in the air, mostly provided by Temari, it had all evaporated now. They were all thinking the same thing:

_Someone had found out._

* * *

Neji was extremely bored. He hated Japanese History; who _cared_ about something that happened in the 1800's? He didn't, that was for sure. The teacher wasn't exactly helping, either, as she paced around the room and lectured in a passionate voice that sounded like she was having a one-sided conversation. 

He didn't care about a word she was saying. Plus, he knew that whatever she was so passionately ranting about would be right in the textbooks for him to read later. He'd rather soak up knowledge that way.

Therefore, this class was always a time to let his mind wander, but he had already thought about all the happenings from yesterday. It was still so hard to believe that anyone could want to hurt something as small as Gaara.

'Hn…your step dad didn't seem to care,' a voice in his head told him. '_You_ were small.'

He shook his head to clear it. He had already poured all of that out of him. There was no need to relive it a third time. He believed in keeping the past behind him, since it couldn't be changed.

But how could he ignore his past, full of abuse, when Gaara basically lived his past at its worst times one hundred. It felt so selfish to try to ignore something when the redhead lived through it, making it impossible to deny.

'Okay, fine, so I'm not done with my thoughts…' he told himself. 'Whatever, that just means I'll have something to do for ten minutes.'

He wondered just how bad the abuse could escalate. His leg had looked pretty bad, that didn't seem like it could be the worst of it. He paled. _That _scared him. How bad was their home life, exactly? Kankurou hadn't specified. It was like he didn't _want _Neji knowing exactly what went on.

Part of him felt that was only fair on their part, but a larger, curious part felt that he should know. He hadn't exactly admitted his crush on Gaara in the presence of any of them, but he wanted to know the younger boy's secrets.

No, he wanted more than that. He wanted to _heal_ him.

The bell rang suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. Neji scooped up his belongings and hurried out the door with everyone else.

* * *

Gaara swore his heart's pounding rhythm in his chest was audible to anyone standing within three feet of him, A.K.A Temari and Kankurou. However, it must not have been so loud, because if it had been, Kankurou would've said something. 

They were currently standing in front of a door. No voices could be heard from inside, but the door and walls could have been soundproofed for privacy reasons. After what seemed like an eternity, the heavy oak door swung open, and they were face-to-face with a kind looking man, who smiled and ushered them in.

"Hello, you three! Please, please take a seat," he told them, gesturing to the extremely comfortable looking couch. Exchanging nervous glances, the siblings did so, although, very stiffly.

"I'm Umino Iruka, your counselor, and this is Principal Tsunade, as you probably already know. We've called you here today to ask a few questions," Iruka informed him. He really was a kind man, but Gaara seemed utterly terrified.

Tsunade nodded. "You see, as teachers, counselors, principals, whatever, we're supposed to notice little things that make us suspicious, especially high school, because it is here when teens try things like drugs, underage drinking, underage sex, and the likes. We are also, however, entitled to notice things like students who come to school battered looking."

If she said anymore, Gaara didn't hear it. He felt sick, like he was going to throw up. Shukaku wasn't exactly helping.

**Good job, brat! Now, we're both screwed! They'll have _me _exorcised from you, and you'll get your fucking ass kicked at home!**

He whimpered inaudibly, squeezing his eyes shut, hearing Tsunade's last question:

"Now, tell me, are things going okay at home?"

He didn't need to answer, thankfully, as Temari, who would provide the most convincing answer piped up.

"Yes, of course!" she told them. "You know who our father is!" she added, hoping to present them with a reason why there definitely was nothing bad going on.

Tsunade, however, scowled. "Yeah, and I supported the child-abuse rumor." Her voice had lost that professional edge, and now she was talking to Temari like she would to her friends. "I knew him in high school. He was manipulative, and he didn't exactly have the best parents."

Kankurou's eyes widened. "Dad was abused?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Tsunade nodded. "Or at least, all evidence pointed to it. He came to school every day with bruises, bruises, bruises, and often limping. Up until his junior year, he stuttered a lot, but over the summer, he got taken away from his mother and was living okay." She paused for breath. Gaara wondered why she was telling them this, it wasn't her business, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be curious. So _this _was continuing the cycle, as they had learned in child-abuse programs throughout their lives.

"But, come his junior year, he wanted revenge. On them, on anyone who ever teased him. He just became so…_mean_ that at one point, a friend of mine remarked that she hoped he never had children, because he wasn't going to do too well with them.

"That was in our senior year. We were surprised, five years later, when he became a political leader of Sunaga, but somehow, it fit him. His job was pretty violent, fighting with other officials and the like. Even more surprised, however, were we when we got news of him being married and having one child." She stared at Temari for a moment.

Kankurou and Gaara exchanged glances, amazed. They had never known.

'It makes sense…' Kankurou thought. 'I feel stupid for not seeing it before…and what Gaara's demon told me, too! It all fits! _That's _why he's such an ass!'

'But,' countered a little voice. 'It doesn't give him license to do what he does.'

No, of course it didn't. Now, it just made a little more sense. His eyes widened slightly when he realized that Gaara would never blame him now for what had been happening for eleven years.

'D-dad…Dad's parents…they hit him too?' Gaara thought to himself. He was amazed.

'So…he had it as bad as me…maybe worse…I mean…I don't know…'

He thought about it for a minute. A silence had filled the room, allowing the three of them to digest the new knowledge. He realized, with a startling jolt, that he felt _bad _for his father. He always knew that he'd never hate him…but he never thought he'd pity the man. Something about him just made him appear so…strong. Perhaps it was the fact that it was those arms that slammed him into walls daily.

He was startled when Iruka began talking again.

"This knowledge is very…well, shocking, Tsunade-sensei, and it only further increases my suspicions that this man may have just continued the cycle. If everything is okay at home, can you explain the fact that your brother is 16 lbs. underweight?" he asked them, as if daring them to make an excuse.

Luckily, Temari had one ready, which was half true. "Gaara was born really early, and he's always been sickly and underweight. His metabolism is extremely fast, and he used to go through phases where he wouldn't eat-"

Kankurou gave her an alarmed look. They'd ask why he didn't eat, and if she said depression, they'd bother him more. Gaara _hated _counselors; they scared him to no end.

"He's been doing better with that, though," she said, catching his drift. "Right, Gaara?"

Beside him, Gaara nodded. "I j-just w-wasn't hungry," he told them.

Iruka stared at him, scrutinizing the small redhead, but then nodded. "Alright. Is there a particular reason for you to come to school so bruised?"

Tsunade nodded. "Actually, you look a lot like your father did in high school, and you," she nodded to Kankurou. "Look like him when he started getting healthier."

Gaara didn't do anything, he had been told many a time how much he looked like his father. Kankurou, however, flinched and looked away. He never wanted to be told that. It hurt even worse now that he knew he reminded someone of his father when he started becoming who he was today.

It was a moment before anyone answered Iruka's question, and even then, it was in such a whisper that Kankurou was sure the man couldn't hear it.

"I'm clumsy…but I like to skateboard, so I fall over a lot and get hurt."

Kankurou and Temari blinked as one. That was a pretty damn good excuse. Iruka scrutinized him a moment more before sighing and shaking his head.

"Well, Tsunade-sensei, I guess this clarifies a lot. You guys can go," he told them, going over to open the door.

All three of them were absolutely silent and rigid until they reached the main hallway. Temari let out a deep sigh of relief and Gaara a shaky exhale. Kankurou let himself slouch again, jamming his hands back into his pockets.

"That teacher of your's is pretty observant," he remarked. Part of him knew that was dangerous. Another part of him, however, almost wanted Iruka to intervene, to take at least Gaara away from their father. It needed to be done.

There were a lot of things that had been necessary, but didn't happen. He was nearly used to it.

* * *

Neji glared at the clock. The clock 'glared' back by making its already extremely slow pace appear to stop. He sighed. He had come to a conclusion through all his boring classes today, and right now, he was trapped in ninth hour, which was keyboarding. He had already finished his assignment and was now willing the clock to suddenly skip forward five minutes. 

He was eager to do this. He had thought about it all day. He would admit his crush on Gaara to the redhead and ask him out. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Knowing his secret, he couldn't hold back anymore.

He would save that tormented soul if it was the last thing he did. When the bell rang (this time, he was prepared) he grabbed his belongings and zoomed out into the hallway, ahead of the rest of his class.

He made it to his locker in record time, and with the practiced speed of one having the same locker for over a year, he spun the dial and wrenched the thing open, pulling out his bag and shoving his books into it, not caring that he wouldn't need half of them. He slammed the door shut when he was done and darted down the hall to Gaara's locker.

The smaller boy appeared to be having trouble undoing his lock. Neji grinned, he was so cute when he was frustrated. He watched the redhead sigh and bend over to put his books on the floor, then got up and tried again. This time, the lock opened easily and he hastily began getting ready to go home.

Now was the time, but Neji's will seemed to have turned to mush. Steeling his nerves, he took a deep breath, and began, loud enough for the redhead to hear him.

"Gaara…" The halls were clearing now, it was only them in this little section. Temari and Kankurou were waiting for them outside. Gaara turned around, a confused look on his fair features, then smiled softly in recognition. There was something false and nervous about that smile, more than usual.

He frowned. "Hey…what's up? You look kinda…" he couldn't really describe it, but now that he looked closer, he wasn't looking all that good. "Sick," he finished.

Gaara sighed, as if wondering whether or not to tell him. "Well…I-iruka-sensei a-and T-tsunade-sensei w-wanted to t-t-talk to us about h-home…th-they almost figured it out…" he seemed scared, and Neji just wanted to wrap his arms around him.

"Ah…well, they didn't, did they?" he asked, hoping to comfort Gaara. When the redhead shook his head, Neji smiled. "That's good. Hey…Gaara, um…I know this might sound weird…but…um…" he fumbled his words, unsure of how to say this. "I know we just met, really…but…well…I…I think…and…it's okay if you don't like this kind of thing…I think…I think I have a crush on you." There. He said it. Now the redhead would go scampering away, terrified.

Gaara stared at him blankly. Neji couldn't help but spill.

"Ever since I carried you in the hallway to class…when Kankurou and I got into that fight…I just…couldn't stop thinking about you. It developed into a crush at that business meeting…and…I don't know, I just can't help it. It's okay if you hate me," he added as an afterthought. "I won't be too sad."

Gaara seemed to be thinking about this for a moment, but then, he spoke, so quietly, Neji barely heard him. "I…I th-think…I ha-have a crush on y-you too…" he said, blushing fiercely. "I d-don't hate you."

Neji blinked, then a grin spread across his face so wide, he swore his face would break in half. "That's great!" he exclaimed. "Would…would you be willing to go out with me? You know…like…dating?"

Gaara nodded. Neji was very pleased to see that he was looking a lot happier, and couldn't stop himself from pulling the small redhead into his arms and hugging him tightly, holding him there.

* * *

Gaara's day hadn't been going well at all after the counseling incident. He had been clumsy and flustered, and now, at his locker was no exception. He had never been good with locks. Today wasn't an exception, of course. 

Frustrated, he set his things on the floor and tried again. Much to his surprise, the lock popped open, and he started shoving his belongings into his bag, trying to be quick because the halls were emptying out.

"Gaara…" came a voice from behind him. He peered over his shoulder and saw Neji standing there. He wasn't in the mood to smile, but he forced one anyways.

Neji could obviously see it was fake. "Hey, what's up? You look kinda…sick," he asked, concern etched across his pale face.

Gaara sighed. He wasn't sure if he wanted Neji to know, but there was no point in hiding it now that he knew their secret. He told Neji about the counselor, but he omitted his father's past. Neji didn't need to know that; it was his father's personal business.

"Th-they al-almost found out…."

"Ah, well, they didn't, did they?" he asked him, concerned. Gaara shook his head. Neji appeared relieved. "That's good. Hey…Gaara, um…I know this might sound weird…but…um…" he paused, as if fumbling. "I know we just met, really…but…well…I…I think…and…it's okay if you don't like this kind of thing…I think…I think I have a crush on you."

Gaara stared at him, shocked both that Neji liked him and that Neji was telling him this.

"Ever since I carried you in the hallway to class…when Kankurou and I got into that fight…I just…couldn't stop thinking about you. It developed into a crush at that business meeting…and…I don't know, I just can't help it," he continued. He added at the end: "It's okay if you hate me, I won't be too sad."

_Hate _him? How could Neji think he hated him? He could never hate Neji! Neji had done so much for him in his pitiful existence! He needed to prove to Neji that he didn't hate him.

"I…I th-think…I ha-have a crush on y-you too…" he said, very quietly. He felt a blush coming up. "I d-don't hate you."

He saw Neji blink, like he was surprised at his feelings being returned, and was shocked when the Hyuuga's face split into a large grin. "That's great!" he exclaimed. "Would…would you be willing to go out with me? You know…like…dating?"

Of _course _he would! He nodded, happily. He was pulled off guard when Neji pulled him in for a tight embrace, holding him against his chest.

'This…this is very comfortable…' he couldn't help but think, relaxing into strong arms that weren't hurting him, weren't making him feel like nothing.

He definitely didn't feel like nothing, now. He felt like he could take on the world.

* * *

AND IT ENDS! Not the story, the chapter! Ha! You thought you could escape! WELL YOU WERE WRONG! Okay, okay, I know, I know, I'm off to play with Haunted for a while, do review! 


	23. What comes up

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: (YAWN!) Starting this chapter…right after I wake up…on the first day of school…ahh…need…coffee! KANKY-CHAN MA- …Oh, she's gone…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'cept a tube of eyeliner.

**Note: **There's a flashback in this chapter, so you know the drill: Flashbacks are in italics.

* * *

Four days seemed to go at an antagonizing pace for the Sabaku siblings. Perhaps this was because that since Kankurou's recent act of defiance, all three of them were in highly potential danger. 

Yes, _potential_ danger.

However, Kankurou realized something: He could fight back. And he could protect his siblings, so he would. He had already realized that his stunt would probably have earned Gaara and him death. However, he also found out that he and his father were pretty equally matched and any time the man (usually drunk) would go after Gaara, he'd fight him off, earning himself quite a few bruises, but keeping Gaara safe and actually managing to harm his father.

Today was Tuesday. Yesterday in school, Neji had been curious to why Kankurou had a black eye. The older teen only grinned and said it was a battle scar he was proud of. The rest of the school figured he had gotten into another fight.

Kankurou had no idea that his little brother and Neji were an item. Gaara was unsure about how to break the news to either of them, feeling that they would reject them.

"Don't worry about it," Neji told him as they walked to the school together. "They wouldn't reject you. They'd probably be really happy that you're in a relationship."

Gaara thought about this for a while and realized that Neji was probably right. They had scheduled their date tomorrow at his house, when his father wouldn't be home.

_

* * *

"So," Neji asked Gaara as they were walking out of the school, "When do you think we'd be able to go on, you know, a date? My house probably isn't a good idea…Hanabi…ugh…" _"_We could…" Gaara started, trailing off. "We could…go to m-my house…but it'd have t-to be on a Wednesday."_

"_What's with the Wednesday?" Neji asked, remembering before that Kankurou said Wednesday was the only good day for him to come over._

"_Well…Dad always goes out to a lot of bars and gets real drunk from 8 in the morning one day to 12 the next," Gaara explained, almost hesitantly, as if this new accumulation of knowledge would make Neji reject him._

"…_Oh…" was all Neji managed to say, actually hoping that one of those drinking binges would end with the man's death._

"_But…" Gaara spoke again, so quietly that Neji almost couldn't hear him, which he suspected was the goal. "We have that math test on Thursday…and I really suck at math…if I fail it, Dad'll kill me…" he muttered, trailing off._

"_Hey, you know, if you want, I can help you in math while I'm over there," Neji provided. "It's one of my better subjects." He smiled at the flustered look on Gaara's face. "I know, interesting thing for a first date, but if you're worried about it, I want to help," he told him._

_Gaara didn't speak for a while, as if he was considering if Neji should help him with his math or not. Finally, he nodded, and Neji beamed, nearly embracing him again, but they had long since reached the doors, not bothering to step outside in their conversation._

* * *

Wednesday…why couldn't it come sooner? In truth, Gaara was as excited as he was nervous about his first date. True, he should've been studying for the math test on his own, because he didn't deserve Neji's help, but he couldn't help looking forward to some alone-time with the older boy. 

But, he needed to tell his siblings first. There was no avoiding it. He'd have to do it after school today.

Gaara pulled all his things from his locker and wormed his way to his first hour class, plunking himself into his chair and resting his chin on the stack. Iruka-sensei, as he had been doing yesterday, as well, went over and asked Gaara how he was doing.

"I'm fine," he told him, smiling.

Iruka blinked. "Well…you look fine…you haven't been skateboarding recently?" he asked skeptically at the lack of new bruises over Gaara's thin frame.

"N-no…my skateboard broke," he lied.

"Ah, well, that's no fun! I hope you can buy another one soon," Iruka told him, but Gaara was sure that was fake. The man had too much of a parental urge to want him to buy another skateboard that he repeatedly managed to bruise himself with.

The bell rang and Iruka started roll call, bringing Gaara to attention.

* * *

Neji stared at the clock on the wall; already wishing it was 2:25 instead of 7:46. Actually, he wished it were 2:25 on _Wednesday._ He was looking forward to he and Gaara's date immensely. He'd show Gaara what love was. 

Whoa, where did _that _thought come from? Either way, it was making him blush like a lunatic!

"Hyuuga Neji!"

"Mm…" Neji managed, and then remembered that it was roll call and blinked. He needed to stay focused. The teacher ran through the rest of the names and Neji sat with his chin on his hand, lost in his thoughts.

What _would _he and Gaara do on their first date? Obviously, they wouldn't get very far…Gaara seemed very shy, and he didn't want to push the redhead into doing anything he didn't want to.

Neji realized with a jolt that avoiding that would be more difficult than anything. Gaara was used to being pushed around and not getting what he wanted. Would he think Neji to be the same as their father? How could he show them that there was a big difference?

He tried to get himself to snap out of it. All he and Gaara were going to do on their date was study for that math test. Sure, it wasn't that romantic, but Neji remembered that Gaara had never been in a relationship before and that a member of his own family beat him on a daily basis.

A lot of people would say that was high maintenance and therefore, Gaara wasn't worth their time, but Neji begged to differ. What the boy needed was someone patient who was willing to show him that everything would be all right; someone other than his family, because his family had probably told him that all his life and it wasn't getting him anywhere.

Was he a key in this entire ordeal?

* * *

Gaara stared at the clock; almost dreading it's descent onto 2:25. He was afraid of telling his siblings he was prepared to go on a date with Neji. What if they rejected him? 

A hopeful part of him was sure that they wouldn't, but years of pessimism implanted into his brain told him not to believe that. He was scared, afraid of telling them what was going on.

Wouldn't they react better, though, if he told them instead of them walking in on he and Neji? They probably would, but it would probably just be a matter of not hitting him and doing what their father would do.

But Kankurou and Temari would _never _hit him. They had made that clear before.

He would just have to chance it, then. If they rejected him, maybe he could live with Neji, and they'd be happy and his father would never hurt him again.

Gaara tried to keep this thought in mind as the bell rang and he scooped up his stuff and ran from the room.

As usual, the two people on either side of his locker were already there, obscuring the tiny orange compartment from view, much less access. Gaara patiently waited, even though his textbooks were beginning to make his thin arms ache.

Finally, the two boys moved and Gaara undid his lock and quickly shoved all his things into his bag, thinking for just a second to grab his math book from the top compartment. Thankfully, his was lower, so this was no problem.

Finally done, he looked around. He'd go find his siblings. He walked down the hall a little, struggling under the weight of all the books he was carrying from class (regardless if he needed them at home or not) as well as his math book.

He found Kankurou first; Temari must have been off somewhere. The older teen was currently fighting with his lock, doing the combination (or, at least what he must've _thought_ was the combination.) and when the lock wouldn't come undone, scowling and kicking the orange metal. Gaara had a feeling the dent near the bottom was the result of his brother's annoyance.

"K-kankurou?" he started, hopefully loud enough for the brunette to hear him.

"Hm?" he answered without turning around, doing his combination again.

"Um…w-well, first of all…y-you need to g-go past zero _three_ times for that lock." That was a good save.

"…I know what I'm doing!" Kankurou said, but as he did so, was careful to turn the dial past zero three times before doing the combination. It came undone very easily.

"…Okay, okay, shut up, you were right…" he mumbled, jamming his stuff into his bag. The halls were almost empty now, but they didn't care, since they walked home.

"Um…K-kankurou…th-there's something I n-need to tell you…" he started again, trying to steel his nerves. The rhythm of his heart against his chest wasn't very reassuring.

Kankurou turned to face him, blinking while shouldering his bag. "Uh-huh? You can tell me anything," he reassured the boy, kicking his locker shut and doing the lock back on, not bothering to check if it had really locked.

"Um…w-well…y-you know Neji?" he said, quietly, staring down at his feet, both of which turned in, like a duck's. (Hey, shut up, that's how I stand. And I like to walk on the sides of my feet. I don't know why. Oh, and curl my toes in when I stand. My dad says it looks very uncomfortable, but it's actually very nice)

The older teen's brow furrowed. "Uh-huh…yeah…what about him?" he said casually.

"Well…u-u-uhm….uhm…w-well….we-we're….we're…"

"You can tell me, Gaara," Kankurou told him. He looked kind of worried.

"We're…we're…um…." He muttered something so quietly, he was sure Kankurou couldn't hear it.

"…Come again? I'm not gonna hurt you, come on!" Dark green eyes blinked, confused.

"Well…well……meandnejiaretogether," he said, so quickly, he almost hoped his brother didn't get it.

It took the older teen a minute of thought before he _really _got it.

"WHOA!" he exclaimed, smacking a hand to his face.

"I'M SORRY!" Gaara countered, flinching away. Kankurou sounded angry.

"No, dude, I'm not mad! This is _great_ for you!" the older teen told him, beaming. He reached forward, and enveloped his much smaller brother into a bear hug that threatened to crush his ribs.

_'…I can't believe he's so accepting! That was almost too easy!'_

* * *

Kankurou's day had been boring. Very, very boring. He was glad to get to his locker, knowing that soon, he'd be going home. Of course, if his father was home, home wouldn't be any better than school, but at least it wasn't boring. 

No, home was the kind of eventful that you wished there was a calm between the storms.

It took him a moment to realize, in his thoughts, that he was tugging on his lock, but it wasn't coming undone. He could've sworn he'd spun the dial. He did his combination again, yanking on the little mechanism. Again, it didn't give way.

"Oh, come on, now!" he exclaimed aloud, trying again. This time, when it wouldn't come undone, he kicked the locker, which was already dented from frustration over the period of time they had been at school. He had never been good with locks. Damn requirements…

Was someone saying his name?

"Hm?" he took a guess, acknowledging whoever was behind him.

"Um…w-well, first of all…y-you need to g-go past zero three times for that lock." It was Gaara; Kankurou could tell by the stutter and nervousness to tell him to do something differently.

"…I know what I'm doing!" He snapped, flustered. He could do this! He'd been doing it since they had come here! …Wait, three times? Oh, yeah… He made a careful attempt to turn it, although was very begrudged when the locker popped open easily.

"…Okay, okay, shut up, you were right…" he mumbled, jamming his stuff into his bag. The halls were almost empty now, but they didn't care, since they walked home. Plus, the halls were always so full of shitheads, Kankurou was glad for the empty space.

"Um…K-kankurou…th-there's something I n-need to tell you…" Gaara was saying. Just the way he was saying it worried the older teen. He turned to face the redhead, pulling his heavy bag onto one shoulder at the same time.

"Uh-huh? You can tell me anything," he told Gaara, who he knew wouldn't tell him if he didn't think Kankurou would enjoy hearing from him.

"Um…w-well…y-you know Neji?" Gaara asked quietly. He seemed to be finding his shoes very interesting. Kankurou didn't see why, they were just a pair of black converse. Gaara hadn't even scribbled all over them.

"Uh-huh, what about him?" he asked, trying to sound casual. The way Gaara was acting, it seemed like Neji had hurt him or something. But, then again, he remembered that if Neji had hurt Gaara, Gaara wouldn't be saying anything at all out of fear. It was the redhead's instinct.

"Well…u-u-uhm….uhm…w-well….we-we're….we're…"

"You can tell me, Gaara," he said, worried at the increase in his brother's stutter. _Had _Neji hurt him?

"We're…we're…um…." He muttered something so quietly, Kankurou couldn't make out what it was.

"…Come again? I'm not gonna hurt you, come on!" he told him, trying to coax him to talk. It's what Gaara needed.

"Well…well……meandnejiaretogether," he said, so quickly, again, Kankurou almost didn't get it.

He replayed it in his head for a moment.

_Meandnejiaretogether_

_Me…Neji…together…_

_Me and Neji are together._

"WHOA!" he exclaimed, smacking a hand to his face, amazed at his own stupidity.

"I'M SORRY!" Gaara countered, flinching away. His outburst must have scared him.

"No, dude, I'm not mad! This is _great_ for you!" he said, trying to stifle and immense hatred for Hyuuga Neji at the moment. He'd need to have a word with him.

_'Hyuuga Neji, I think I might just kill you…'_

* * *

Neji craned his neck, trying to look over the crowd. It was hard to miss Gaara, with his shockingly colored hair. 

'I wonder if that's dyed…' he thought absently, thinking that he'd ask him when he saw him next. Had Gaara already left the grounds? He didn't think so; Temari was still hanging out with a girl he knew, Ten Ten. Gaara wouldn't have left without her, or Kankurou, but he couldn't see the brunette either.

'Well, it's harder to catch him in a crowd…' he thought, again. 'His hair color's pretty common, but he's also pretty tall.'

He started sifting his way through the crowd, making his way closer to the doors in case they were inside, still. Just as he'd fought past the most violent part of the crowd, a group of people obviously in a gang (They kept shouting "SOUTH SIDE!" in excited voices.) he saw them. Gaara exited first, and he had the largest grin on his face that Neji had ever seen. He had never seen Gaara smile so openly; it made a big difference.

After him was Kankurou, who was also smiling, but his eyes seemed searching. For a moment, brown met white and Neji could've sworn he saw something menacing pass through Kankurou's gaze, which made him shudder.

He watched as Kankurou told Gaara something, and the redhead nodded and went off in Temari's direction. Neji was about to follow him, but he saw the older teen walking towards him, looking very casual, but something about the walk scared Neji.

"Uh…h-hi, Kankurou," he started, unsure why he was so nervous.

"Dude…you're…dating my brother," Kankurou told him slowly.

"U-uh…yep!"

There was a pause.

"…You're dating my _brother!_" he repeated.

"I know! What, is it wrong to be gay?" Neji asked, somewhat annoyed.

"No, it's not that, but you're dating _my _brother!" This was beginning to get confusing.

"Well, yeah, I don't know anyone _else _who's brother I'd date!" Neji snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kankurou advanced again and Neji closed his eyes, waiting to get punched.

"Dude, _you didn't ask me!_"

Neji blinked, and stared at Kankurou.

"A-ask you?" he managed, confused.

"Yeah! You didn't ask me if you could date my brother!" Kankurou repeated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Neji kept staring at the older teen. There was something seriously wrong with the brunette. "Um…I'm sorry?"

"Oh, it's okay, as long as he's happy and –" he grabbed Neji's shirt. "_If you break my brother's heart, I'm gonna kick yer ass!"_

Since Kankurou was very scary sounding, Neji yelped, shaking a little. "I won't! I wont! Never!" he said, truthfully. "I don't have the heart to hurt him in any way possible! I'm practically afraid that if I _touch _him the wrong way he'll shatter!" he admitted, somewhat against his will.

Kankurou blinked and dropped him. "R-really?"

"Yeah! He's so…so…_fragile…_" Neji tried to explain, flustered that he had shared that little bit of information. People were beginning to give them odd looks.

"You…you really care about him…" Kankurou said, as if he was surprised. "That's…wow…Neji…dude…you have permission to date my brother!"

"_I NEVER ASKED YOU!_"

* * *

Yay! Writers' block: GONE! 


	24. Must Come Down

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: …I know what's going to happen in this chapter…Just…keep….reading…

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Haven't you figured it out? …You haven't? Okay, then you just keep thinking I'm Kishimoto.

* * *

Wednesday morning trudged by so slowly for those unable to sleep because of restless demons residing in their souls. 

In a less vague sense, Gaara was very excited about his first date, nearly childishly so, and time had decided to play its game and seem like it wasn't moving at all.

It had seemed that he had checked the clock every minute from midnight to five in the morning. As soon as he heard the digital alarm go off in Temari's room, down the hall, he launched himself from where he had been laying on the floor, staring at the clock, and hurried to go find clean clothing.

Gaara dug through his dresser, searching for something that wasn't torn as a result of his father's assaults. Finally, he discovered a pair of black pants lined with what looked like thick, silver thread, but on closer inspection, seemed to be thin chains that hardly made a noise when you moved.

He had hardly worn them since they were bought in Hot Topic, since he had gotten into the habit of changing clothing only when it was beginning to draw attention that he didn't. Therefore, his father's callused, cruel hands hadn't so much as touched these pants.

He got a lime green shirt out that said in childish font 'I can 2 spel!' and changed in the room, finishing quickly, as if speeding up everything he did that day would bring him closer to his date with Neji.

When he had finished adjusting the chains scattered around his pants and securing a belt around his waist (he was still _losing _weight and hadn't eaten in a day and a half) he checked the clock, very disappointed to see it was only 5:05 AM.

'Well…only nine hours, twenty minutes, and sixteen seconds left…'

* * *

Temari woke up that morning with an odd feeling in the air. It seemed like…_something _was going to happen that day. She thought about it for a moment, still in bed, and remembered with a jolt that Gaara's first date was today. Their father wouldn't be homefor it, thankfully, and she really hoped he would have fun, even though all they were doing was studying for Gaara's math test. 

When Gaara had told her, she had at first not believed him, but all doubt disappeared within seconds.

_

* * *

"T-temari?"_

_The blonde teen looked up from where she was rapidly conversing with her friend, Ten-Ten, a girl in her lunch. "Yes, Gaara?" she responded towards him, feeling it best to never put the redhead off._

"_I…uh…I h-have t-t-to tell you so-something…" he said quietly, playing with the sleeves of his sweatshirt and giving Ten-Ten a suspicious glance that Temari didn't miss._

"_Alright…um…Ten-Ten? Look, I'm sorry, but I'll be right back, okay?"_

_The bun-haired girl nodded, big amber eyes curious as to what was going on. _

_Gaara led her over to an area where the crowd hadn't infested, though since everyone was clearing out to go home, that wasn't hard to find._

"_Okay, so what do you need to tell me?" Temari asked pleasantly, knowing that if she acted casual, it would be easier for her brother to admit things._

"_U-um…w-well…K-Kankurou already kn-knows…but…y-you know Neji?" he said, very quietly._

_Oh, of _course _Temari remembered _Neji_…she had stopped calling the younger teen 'sex-offender', but that was only because he stopped calling her 'sibling'. _

"_Yeah…what about him?" she asked casually. Neji was, so far in life, Gaara's first and only friend, so she wondered what could be going on right now that Gaara was so nervous to tell her._

"_U-uh…w-well………W-we're…" he took a deep breath. "nejiandmearetogetherandkankuroualreadyknowandyouweretheonlyonelefttotellandimsorryifyoudontlikeit!" _(A/N: For those who don't feel like reading that through: Neji and me are together, and Kankurou already knows, and you were the only one left to tell and I'm sorry if you don't like it!)

_"WHOA, whoa! Gaara, slow down! It's okay, whatever you have to say, I won't hate you for it!" she exclaimed, holding an arm out to stop the boy._

_Gaara took several deep breaths and started again, panicked sounding, but slower. "M-me and N-neji g-got together…and-and K-kankurou already knows…y-you were the last one to tell…I-I'm sorry…"_

_Together…?_

"_You mean…like…as a couple?" Temari asked for clarification._

"_U-um…yes…"_

_She saw Gaara flinch back, expecting to be hit and grinned, embracing the small redhead and squishing him against her chest. "KYAH! GAARA, NO, THIS IS **GREAT**!" she told him._

* * *

Ah, of course, that was what was happening that day. Something in the back of her head wasn't convinced, but she kept it where it was, telling it to go away. 

She grinned mischievously. Today was _such_ a good day Kankurou should wake up early for it!

* * *

Kankurou was beginning to wonder if he had insomnia like his brother did. He hadn't managed sleep until three that morning, but now was absolutely passed out, sprawled all over his bed. He was having a strange dream in which he and Gaara were chickens and Temari was a giant rooster determined to eat them. 

Brow furrowed, he rolled over onto his stomach, because the rooster-Temari had threatened to castrate him, now.

Faster…

Faster!

Oh, no! He had left Gaara in the dust! However, it seemed that Temari was only going after him. She was getting closer…he couldn't escape…and then…

"KANKUROU, WAKE UP!"

"NYAAH!" he yelled, jumping from the bed. He stared in the direction of the call: Temari.

"Damn rooster! I was sleeping!" he told her in a mumble/growl, rubbing all the sleep from his eyes.

Temari raised a blonde eyebrow. "_What _did you just call me?"

Kankurou blinked. "Oh, that was nothing. Never mind it…" he said, yawning. "Ugh…thank you, Temari…two hours of sleep…joy…"

"Oh, stop it! Today's Gaara's first date! It shall be a good day!" Temari protested with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, and it would be better if I could've _slept _the full three and a half hours I would've had the luxury of getting!" the younger teen whined, pulling his blanket over his head and laying down.

Temari wasn't pleased with that. She went over to the bed and jabbed two merciless fingers into Kankurou's side, being sure to tickle him. When her brother shrieked in such an ungodly fashion that she was pleased, she left, being sure to switch the light on so it would filter through Kankurou's thin and worn blanket.

'Damn bitch…Mm…bed…warm…' 

"Kankurou, if you fall back to sleep, I'll castrate you!" he heard from the hallway.

Dear god, it really _was _rooster Temari!

* * *

Sabaku no Kazekage thought of himself as an otherworldly being, mostly because all his power as the leader of Sunaga had gotten to his head. However, although he would be leaving in three hours to go out, he wished to have at least two more of sleep. 

"KANKUROU, WAKE UP!"

Growling, Kazekage rolled over, ready to go back to sleep. If those brats didn't pipe down, he'd have to move to hit them. That took too much effort this early. Tch. It was probably the murderer's fault anyways.

In all truth, Kazekage hardly remembered _why_ he hated Gaara. He just knew that his wife was dead and had left him with three kids, and one of them was very fun and easy to hit.

In the beginning, he had even had some regrets about what he was doing. That had been in the beginning, and in the beginning, beatings were only done in a drunken stupor.

_Now,_ however, he just wanted to bash their faces in and claim it was a burglar. It wasn't helping one bit that his older son had gotten very good at fighting, from where, he had no clue. He had never put him in any classes for it.

The last straw was broken when he heard _squealing_ from Kankurou's bedroom. Growling menacingly, Kazekage whipped off the blankets, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. What the fuck were those whores doing up and active at this time of the morning?

He stood up and walked across the hall to the older boy's room, hearing the bathroom door close next to him.

Of course, it was quiet now.

"Kankurou, if you go back to sleep, I'll castrate you!"

Two auburn eyebrows skyrocketed. What the fuck was going on here? Whatever. He didn't give a fuck. And now that he was up, he was up. Feh. Coffee sounded very good at the moment.

* * *

Gaara blinked from where he sat in the corner of his room. What was happening with his siblings? He had heard Temari try to wake Kankurou up, some squealing that he recognized as his older brother being tickled, and then Temari threatening castration on him. 

Why was she waking Kankurou up at this hour, anyways? It was only 5:15, now. He was beginning to get bored sitting in the corner, so standing up, he made his way over to the door, walking out and quietly stepping down the stairs.

He had reached the kitchen, thinking that he was the only one down there. Temari was in the bathroom and Kankurou was likely to have fallen back to sleep, no matter how much Temari threatened him. The threats were empty, anyways.

"What the fuck are you doing out of bed?" came a voice from the table, tired and menacing sounding. Gaara jumped, turning to face his father.

"Answer me!" the man said when he got no response from the teenager.

"I…I uh…I al-always get up this early…" he stammered, which was true. Usually, though, he was in the living room, never out in the open kitchen, where his father normally sat.

"Pfft. As if, you lying son of a bitch." Kazekage's voice was very calm, but it was scarier than the scream at times. This was the voice that scared Gaara the most.

"S-sorry…" Gaara told him, trying to sneak off, unsure of what the man wanted from him.

"No! You're _not _'sorry'!" he shouted, slamming the coffee cup that had been in his head on the table. Gaara winced at the noise, inching towards the door.

"Don't you go anywhere!" he shouted. "Get yer ass over here!"

Gaara flinched, debating. Kankurou wasn't here to protect him; he didn't have any choice. Slowly, deliberately so, he made his way over to where his father sat, twiddling with his fingers.

"I bet it's your fault I'm up this early, you slut!" he yelled, but didn't reach out to hit him.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" Gaara apologized, bringing up his hands to shield him out of instinct.

"Get your hands down, you pathetic murderer!" This time, he did reach out, yanking Gaara's left hand away from his face and twisting it so the teen's wrist screamed in pain.

However, the redhead had learned long ago not to make a sound and instead gasped, rather than whimper like he would've liked to. This was apparently also displeasing.

"Shut the fuck up!" he poured the small amount of coffee left on Gaara's hand. It was still very hot and burned him, but the man didn't care and instead slammed the porcelain cup down on matching-colored skin.

However, just then, Kankurou walked into the room, frowning at the situation. Glaring at his older son, who glared back like a mirror, he removed the cup from Gaara's hand, which had turned pink from the pressure and burning sensation.

Gaara thought Kankurou would say something to trigger his father away from him, but he didn't, instead pouring himself some coffee. The tension in the room was very thick, Gaara found himself hardly able to breathe, which was silly since the humidity was low.

While Kankurou and their father busied themselves in another glaring contest, he snuck out, seeking out Temari. He found the older girl coming down the stairs, her bag in hand.

"Hi, Gaara! Is Kankurou up?" she asked with a giggle, looking at the clock. It was only quarter 'till six.

"Y-yeah…he's in th-the kitchen…wi-with Dad…" he added.

"Oh…" Temari replied, somewhat sadly. If Kazekage was in there, she might not be able to pack the small teen a lunch, and she didn't want Gaara's perfect day marred by _anything. _"Hey, what's wrong with your hand?" she asked suddenly, pointing to Gaara's arm.

Gaara flushed darkly, pulling his hand behind his back and wishing for long sleeves to hide. "I-it's nothing…" he tried to assure her.

"…Gaara, did he hit you in there?" Temari asked slowly, knowing well the pattern of their life.

"N-no!" She waited a few seconds. "…yes…"

"Oh, Gaara…I'm sorry…" Temari told him, wrapping her arms around his thin frame. She had gotten used to having the abstinence of pain around the house with Kankurou being the defense, now to have it come back scared her.

She had been foolish, however, to think that it would stop forever just because Kankurou was protecting them. The brunette couldn't be there _all _the time…

Temari sighed, but didn't press the matter, knowing Gaara wouldn't want to talk about it, and she wanted this day to be as perfect as possible for him, and disappeared into the kitchen. Gaara took a seat in the corner of the couch, curling up to make himself small and staring at the blank screen of the television, trying to will himself not to if his father came out, since that was considered 'watching television', though it wasn't on.

Heaven forbid he waste his father's electric.

* * *

Neji woke up on Wednesday morning feeling as if he was on a cloud. Not only had he woken up on time, but it was _Wednesday_ Sure, most students would only see that Wednesday was only another day – and one in the middle of the week, at that! But, no, Neji was looking forward to what was _after _school. 

His date with Gaara was today. He was so happy, he launched himself out of bed without even trying to battle the horror that was his alarm clock and later, his aunt, beaming as he picked out something to wear.

When he jumped in the shower, he was terrified by the fact that there was still hot water left. There was a lot of people living in the Hyuuga household and most of them got up earlier than Neji's six in the morning for work, showering and usually wasting all the hot water.

Today was too perfect. It was surreal, almost scarily so. It almost gave him a nagging feeling, but he forced it out of his brain before it could even be translated into something Neji would think about.

Nothing was going to ruin this day. Nothing at all.

He turned off the shower water and stepped out into the mist, towel drying himself thoroughly before getting dressed with a towel wrapping up his hair. It looked funny, like he was wearing a turban that slipped off to one side.

Neji scrubbed his teeth so hard, he thought his gums would bleed, but they didn't, and just to check if they were clean (though there was no doubt about it – his smile could almost match his classmate, Lee's, in glamour.) he wet his finger and scrubbed at his teeth, pleased when a very audible, clean sounding squeak sounded.

Satisfied, Neji undid his hair and began the long and complicated process of brushing waist-length, knotted black hair to a straight neatness. (Ugh, the horrors of long hair…(glad she cut hers to her shoulders…even though she's letting it grow out again))

When he exited the bathroom, he was very surprised to see Hanabi staring at him.

"…Neji, you take for_ever_ in the bathroom!" she told him, shoving past him with her things. Neji grinned when he heard the water start running and counted it down.

"UGH, NEJI! YOU USED ALL THE HOT WATER!"

Snickering to himself quietly, Neji walked downstairs to go get something for breakfast. Today was a very good day indeed.

* * *

At school, Neji stood near the picnic table where he and Gaara had first really spoken. He hadn't originally planned this; it was comfortable to sit down right now, and get away from the overly large crowd. 

He finally spotted them, seeing, for once, not Gaara's bright head in the sea of blonde, black, and brown, with a couple of green (wtf?) scattered in there, but Kankurou's spiky, unkempt one, which towered over a good portion of the school, except for the basketball players, who Neji swore must've been half-giant.

He stood on the bench, gesturing for them to come over and smiled when they started fighting their way through the sea of loud (though it was only 7:30) high school students. Finally, they made it to where he was, which, amazingly enough since it was a place to sit, was empty.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was old, the wood rotted, but Neji didn't care, and neither, apparently, did the Sabaku siblings.

"Hey, Neji," Kankurou greeted casually.

"Hi," he said, looking at Gaara. The younger teen was blushing darkly, but in his eyes…Neji had never seen those jade orbs so happy before. Usually, it was a fake happy with pain and scars hidden beneath. This was a genuine euphoria.

Neji jumped down from the seat and embraced his new boyfriend, smelling his hair.

"Whoa, you smell good!"

Gaara, if possible, blushed deeper. "R-r-really?" he asked in a tentative voice. Neji found it adorable.

"Yeah! Like…like strawberries. I like it." He went back to the red locks, inhaling deeply. Today was perfect.

Eventually, however, the bell rang, separating Gaara's small form from Neji's arms while Kankurou and Temari either watched or looked around, amused by the entire thing. Neji usually liked school, but right now, he hated it with a fiery passion for separating him from his human strawberry.

He did, however, walk Gaara to his locker and his first hour class, almost making him late for his own, but he didn't care.

_'Please…please make it busy today…I want it to go as fast as possible!'_

* * *

Normally, Gaara hated gym. It wasn't because he hated exercise; he _couldn't _exercise. His bruises were usually in places that hurt to run, or walk even, sometimes, and because he was so thin, he had no stamina whatsoever. 

He tried, he really did, and he knew that Genma respected his efforts. Today, they were doing fitness stations, as an exercise. Gaara was happy for this. Because the stations were set up all around the gymnasium, separated by cones and the equipment scattered around, they wouldn't have to do laps around the area.

Laps were harder to do than anything else. They were to either jog or run for three minutes straight. Gaara couldn't manage that, he'd collapse, but Genma was usually adamant about it.

He walked into the boys' locker room, surprised when he met face-to-face with Uchiha Sasuke.

"I heard you're going out with Hyuuga Neji," the taller boy spat, cornering Gaara.

"U-u-um…y-yes…" he stammered, bringing his hands up and fiddling with them.

"You faggot!" Sasuke told him, bringing his arm back to hit him.

It was pure instinct that Gaara acted on. He ducked at the last moment, making Sasuke's fist hit the solid stonewall behind him. As the raven-haired teen cried out in pain, Gaara ducked out under his arm and ran into the bathrooms, where he locked his stall shut.

What had he done? He never ducked; he just took the hit. But then again…now that he thought about it, his father had always held him in place to ensure that any flinching away was impossible.

Unfortunately, Gaara didn't have his gym outfit with him, so he unlocked the stall and peeked out. The room was deserted; everyone must already have been outside, doing the fitness stations.

That was good. Now, not only could he avoid Sasuke, but he could also change without worrying about people seeing him. This wasa relief,so he walked over to his locker and unlocked his stuff, changing in silence.

Why had Sasuke done that? Sure, he had picked on him a few times during the time he had been going to school in Konoha, but nothing like this. It was more a verbal thing, which Gaara tried to ignore. This, however, was proving difficult. He couldn't even ignore his father, not after eleven years, and Uchiha Sasuke was no different.

Finishing, Gaara made sure his lock was locked and stepped outside. The rest of the class had already started, so he picked the station closest to him and looked at the jump rope. He had never learned how to do this. Next to him, some girls that he didn't know were doing it very fast.

He decided it wasn't a good idea to mimic them, and instead started swinging the rope slowly, managing to jump it when it came in front of his feet. Gaara beamed; he _could _do something right!

* * *

Neji was extremely antsy in his seat. 2:20…2:21! Four more minutes! He thought the clock would be completely stopped all day. That's what it seemed like, anyways. Now, he was in his ninth hour class, art, but he had already finished his project, thus having nothing to do for forty whole minutes. 

This meant that he had nothing to distract himself from his anticipation. He had asked the teacher, since he had been the only one done, if he could help her with anything, but she had refused him and told him to just sit in his seat for the entire time, doing something quietly.

Neji had already completed all of his homework, and now, those four minutes – three now, actually – were taunting him, ever so slowly…they kept moving…ticking…never getting anywhere.

No, he wouldn't depress himself with that. Humming a song in his head quietly, Neji waited somewhat patiently for the bell. When it finally rang, he jumped from his seat, put the chair on his desk very quickly and grabbed his things, darting from the room.

He made it to his locker faster than ever, owing to the fact that he shoved everyone in his way aside. They wouldn't be too happy with that, but right now, Neji didn't care. Not one bit.

He had already done all of his homework, so there was no point in taking anything home, he thought, shoving his books and binder into his locker compartment, which was a tight squeeze. He managed it, though, and slammed the locker door shut, running down the hall to Gaara's locker.

It appeared that the younger boy _did _have homework, and he was busy trying to cram three books and a binder into his old looking book bag. Neji smiled and bent down to where he was, crouched on the floor, giving him a hug from behind.

Gaara jumped, as if not expecting that, and Neji instantly felt bad. "Sorry, Gaara…" he apologized, nuzzling his face into those strawberry locks again.

"It's okay," Gaara told him, managing to cram everything into his bag, but now having difficulty zipping it up. When he finally managed the task, Neji stood up, allowing room for the smaller teen to do the same.

Gaara stood up with some difficulty, the weight of his bag pulling him forward, and just barely managed to swing the black package onto his back. Neji frowned, seeing him start to sway with the weight.

"Here, do you want help with that?"

"N-no, I'm fine!" Gaara protested, but even as he said it, Neji saw that the weight was pushing him down. He wouldn't be able to walk home with it.

"No, no, it's nothing. I don't have my bag on me, so I can carry yours for you," he told him, gently untangling it from the smaller teen's arms and hefting it onto his own back.

It was very, very heavy. Gaara wouldn't have been able to carry this home by himself. Neji, however, decided that he would.

"Let's go, alright?"

"Um…Neji?" Gaara asked him, his gaze going to his feet. "I…uh…I have to go home alone first…there's something I need to do before you come over…you know…a little clean up…"

Neji's brow furrowed. "But…I don't mind if it's messy…" he told Gaara.

"N-no…no…I'd rather do some clean-up…okay?" Neji was surprised that Gaara had refused him, it wasn't something the redhead normally did. He must've felt very strongly about cleaning up his house.

"Well, couldn't I help you? It could be part of the date…" Neji said. He wanted to help.

"No…no…I think it'd be be-best if I d-did it alone…" Gaara insisted in a mumble. "I-I should g-get going for that…do-don't worry, it's Wed-Wednesday…just…pl-please tell T-temari and K-kankurou, okay?" he asked, looking up through his red fringe to meet Neji's gaze.

"Well….alright…when should I meet you over there?" Neji asked after a bit of consideration. For some reason, the idea of Gaara being home alone wasn't appealing to him well.

"U-um…abou-about a half an hour. Sorry…I just…d-don't want you t-to s-see the mess…"

So _that's _what this was about. "Gaara…I don't care about the mess, but if you're adamant about cleaning it up…and you're actually sticking up for it and refusing me, I'll let you go."

Gaara blushed gently at Neji's words and nodded, turning to head for the door.

"Th-thanks Neji…"

"…No problem…" But there was a problem. Neji couldn't place it, but he felt that there was something wrong.

* * *

Gaara sighed as he exited the building. He didn't want to leave Neji like that, he really didn't, but he also didn't want Neji to see the mess of beer bottles and other things lying around his house. He would get disgusted and want to leave him. 

Gaara knew he couldn't face rejection from Neji. It would be the final straw, snapping him in two and leaving him broken like he should be. Neji was the change in fate that he wanted to keep where it was.

He went to adjust his book bag on his shoulders, but remembered that Neji had it. The thought of Neji carrying his things made Gaara blush; Neji didn't need to do things for someone like him. He was so kind to him…kinder than he should've been.

He wasn't worth Neji's kindness. But Neji accepted him anyways, despite his unworthiness and his filth. Maybe…maybe Neji could purify him; take him away on shining wings of dove-soft feathers and hold him in his arms, keeping him safe forever…

In his thoughts, Gaara realized he was right in front of his house. Out of habit, he took a glance at the driveway, relieved when there wasn't a car in there. Of course there wouldn't have been; it was Wednesday. Their father wouldn't be home until noon the following day.

Feeling more secure with these thoughts, especially because what he was about to do was especially bad, Gaara went up to the door, silently turning the knob (they never locked up) and stepping into the living room.

It was just as they had left it; beer bottles strewn all over the floor and some places in the carpeting stained with alcohol. He sighed and decided he'd better get going before Temari, Kankurou, and Neji came.

Gaara found his way to the kitchen and pulled out a garbage bag from the cupboard, where Temari kept them. He made his way back to the living room and began picking up the numerous bottles, tossing them into the white plastic bag in silence.

He had been about half done with the room when he heard it; a car coming into the driveway. Gaara stood, frozen, bent over the bag with a particularly large vodka bottle in his hand. There was nowhere to hide.

The door opened and slammed loudly. That gave away who it was immediately; Kankurou and Temari closed the door with as much silence as possible in case their father was around.

That only left…

"You fucker, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

…his father.

"D-d-dad! I-i..I w-w-was…w-was j-just cl-clea-cleaning u-up…"

"I w-w-w-was just cl-cl-cl-cl-cleaning up!" the man mimicked, crossing the floor in a few short strides and grabbing Gaara by the collar of his shirt. "Where the fuck are your brother and sister? Aren't here to save you now, are they?" he sneered, grinning.

Gaara could smell no alcohol on his breath. His father was sober. He knew what he was doing. That was extremely dangerous.

"Yeah, your precious Kankurou isn't here to stop me, now, is he?" his voice was softer now, more dangerous. It took Gaara a moment to realize where his father's other hand was – the back of his thigh. "I don't think you understand just how pissed off I am at you three whores right now. I don't think you understand how badly you need to be _punished._" As he said the last word, his hand snaked up a little higher, groping the redhead.

Gaara gasped; this couldn't be happening. Not now! He tried to struggle, attempting to kick, but Kazekage growled and slammed him against the wall, glaring at him while grinning maliciously.

"I could do it right here…no…too many windows. Very well, then, bitch, I have to drag your filth up the stairs just to make you _hurt,"_ he said, as if accusing Gaara of there being too many windows in the living room.

Without any warning, he was wrenched from the wall and dropped, landing on his arm. He lay there, afraid to move.

"Get the fuck up!" was the command as his arm seared in pain – his father had grabbed it and wrenched him upwards. "Get the hell up the stairs!"

Shaking horribly, Gaara knew he had no choice but to comply. He had no sooner reached the stairs, however, when his shaking became so bad, he couldn't manage to climb the wooden staircase, crumpling to the ground in front of it, instead.

"What the fuck's the matter with you? Fine, I'll drag you!" Kazekage yelled, going ahead and grabbing Gaara by his hair, dragging him up painfully. Gaara tried very hard to get his legs to hurt, surely his father would scalp him like this, but he couldn't will them to become anything more than jelly.

After the stairs came his father's room, where he was thrown unceremoniously into the other wall. Kazekage made swift business of closing all the blinds – the neighbors were already beginning to suspect, locking the door, and rummaging around, finding a piece of cloth.

He made his way back over to where Gaara lay, shaking too hard from fright to move. "On your knees," he said in that dangerous voice. Gaara whimpered and obeyed, shaking, but managing to stay upright.

Without expression, Kazekage tied the cloth around Gaara's eyes. "They say that without sight, pain becomes magnified. I think we'll test that theory today," he said in the same voice.

Gaara bit his lip, whimpering loudly, still shaking. He didn't know what was happening, but he heard the rustle of clothing and something hard pushing against his lips.

"_Suck._ And if you bite, you'll regret it more than you've ever regretted everything in your pitiful existence."

* * *

Oh…my…god…I'm such a horrible person…so horrible….so, so horrible….oh, god, I'm crying…I'm so horrible.. 

Just as a thing…some of you may say that the rape thing was stolen from Shu with Vindicated. This is wrong for several reasons:

Although her rape scene came first, do keep in mind that Lost and Found was the original story.

Also, way back in the beginning, when Vindicated was maybe only 2 chapters into it's first circulation, Shu and I were talking online about our stories. She said that she was considering doing a rape, and at the time, I had been as well. We found it weird that we shared brain waves.

Also, just to let the world know, Lost and Found has been an idea since August of 2004. I just hadn't bothered typing it until March of 2005. The rape idea had struck me when this story was still an idea.

That is all. I'm sorry…I'm just…I don't know…I knew I was gonna do it, but I'm so horrible for doing so!


	25. Aftermath It all Ends Now

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: ……………

Disclaimer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* * *

Kankurou, Temari, and Neji started walking back from school about fifteen minutes after the place cleared. They had been stalling for time, as Temari and Kankurou knew just what Gaara was doing at home and decided it was a good idea – Neji only needed to _know _what was going on, he didn't need to see the extent of their father's alcoholism. 

Neji, keeping Gaara's bag firmly shouldered, was utterly confused. It was just a mess, he wouldn't mind. His own house could get really messy, too, when the butlers didn't clean up. Hanabi was an extremely messy little kid.

Something told him that this was more than a normal mess, though, or Gaara wouldn't have been so adamant about it. It was so strange for him to have done that…part of Neji knew, sadly, that it didn't happen too often, based on Kankurou's words, but at the same time, he was slightly (and only very, very slightly) disgruntled that he had been refused.

How bad was this 'mess', anyways? Neji was just _itching_ to get there and start their date, whether it was just studying for a test or not! They were on the street, now, just not on the block…just a little further…

Kankurou and Temari seemed to be talking about something, but Neji wasn't paying attention, lost in his own thoughts and counting down the minutes until he would be with Gaara.

Obsessed? No. Just waiting for this moment for weeks.

They had reached the end of the block, now. They'd be passing his house any moment and going around the corner…and then there was the Sabaku household, devoid of abuse at the moment and with a redhead waiting for him.

…There was something wrong with him.

They turned the corner, all in cheerful moods. However, Kankurou, who was in the lead, had no sooner set his foot down when he froze, eyes suddenly widening. Temari gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Neji was unsure what was going on until he managed to see in via the gap in between brown and blonde spikes. A car in a driveway was all that he saw.

Wait.

A car…in a driveway…that wasn't just any old driveway…

That meant…

"Oh…. shit…" Kankurou breathed, pressing two fingers against his mouth. "No…no way…."

"K-Kankurou…D-d-dad's sti-still m-mad at y-you for…. for p-protecting us…" Temari managed, her voice shaking and reminding Neji very strongly of a female Gaara.

So, that's what had happened. Kankurou, after his greatest moment, was now protecting his siblings. Was their father that evil? Would he really take too much advantage of an open opportunity when Kankurou wasn't home?

Neji knew the answer to _that_ before it had even finished passing through his brain: Yes.

Kankurou, however, appeared not to hear them and ran forward, blindly almost. Temari and Neji had no choice but to follow him.

* * *

Kankurou had been very happy that his normally shy and paranoid brother was making friends. He was overjoyed that he had gotten a significant other, Neji. (He was _still_ miffed that the younger teen hadn't asked him!) Needless to say, Kankurou was almost in as much ecstasy as his brother and the teen behind him that was practically floating. 

It gave him a surge of something warm every time he saw Gaara interacting with others. With Neji around, maybe that warmth would never go away. Kankurou would like that; the cold was beginning to freeze so bad it burned.

He and Temari had been holding a conversation about something, at least, he thought he was, he wasn't really paying attention to his sister, preferring to mull through his thoughts and for once not wince.

Thankfully, they had walked home so often that their brains subconsciously knew that route to their house from school, so neither of them needed to think about where they were going. Automatically, their feet turned them around the corner.

'And the best part of it all is that Dad-'

Kankurou stopped dead, even his thoughts. There, in his driveway…no…it must've been another car…

But who _else_ on their street drove a black car that clean and new looking? No…he was home…

"Oh…. shit…" he managed, as if notifying the two behind him what was going on. A sudden wave of nausea came over him. He hadn't been there. He couldn't protect him.

Temari appeared to notice the problem (no, it was past that, this was a disaster!) too and said something in a stammering voice, but Kankurou couldn't hear her.

'I can't believe it…oh, god no…I can't believe…there's no chance he'll be okay…Dad's so pissed with him…with all of us…but he takes it out on him…what if he's dead? What if Dad killed him and it's my fault because I wasn't there to protect him?'

He suddenly forgot there were two other teenagers behind him, one petrified and one confused, but sensing the feeling of dread and ran. He needed to know that Gaara was at least alive…he could only hope that he wasn't worse than dead. He wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of knowing his brother was broken beyond repair and it was his fault.

As soon as he had gotten to the steps, the door opened, and from it emerged his father. He looked clean and crisp, as if nothing that involved unnecessary force or violence had happened, but Kankurou knew that was all a lie.

Seeing his older son seemed to humor the man. He smirked, brushing past the brunette, being sure to knock their shoulders as hard as he could.

"HE BETTER BE ALIVE!" Kankurou blurted out, his fear taking over.

"Oh, he's alive. I'm sure of _that,"_ was all he told him before getting into his car, starting it up and driving off, screeching down the road. Normally, that tone in his father's voice didn't scare Kankurou one bit, but for some reason, he felt a frozen mortification start at his stomach, rising up his throat in the form of bile.

He swallowed the stinging substance, not bothering to wince at the burn in his throat when it went back down, dashing into the house. He heard Temari and Neji behind him and screamed blindly, "Temari, check this floor, I'll take the basement, and Neji upstairs!"

Kankurou zoomed to the basement steps, his heart thudding loudly in his ears, throwing open the door. Eyes widening, he swore loudly, unable to believe it and ran down, banging the door shut.

* * *

Gaara didn't even register when his father left the room, too blinded by pain to notice much of everything at all. If he moved at all, pain would shoot through him, especially from in between his legs. 

Why did it hurt this much? He had been through all kinds of pain, and he knew he had a pretty high tolerance of it, being able to hold in screams until the very end, but this…this had hurt so much…

Trying to ignore the stabs of pain shooting up and down his exhausted body, Gaara dragged himself across the room, stopping in front of a picture frame that lay on the ground, the glass cracked. His father had thrown it at him when he was done, or at least, he thought so, and Gaara hadn't had a chance to see what it was.

Now, his face hovering merely six inches from the glossy, but flawed surface, he could see it fully. It had been taken years ago, before any of them had been born, on his parents' wedding day, to be exact.

The two adults in the picture looked so happy, his mother smiling that grin of hers that said she was the happiest woman alive and his father smiling in the way Gaara knew he'd never see again; he had hardly seen it when it was used. His father didn't smile all that often.

Still…the happiness…he could almost see why his auburn-haired tormentor would throw it across the room. The smiles were painfully happy, reminders of the past that can never be recalled.

And it had been his fault. There was no denying it anymore; it had been literally pounded into him. This time, in more ways than one. A feeling of self-hatred rose through him, and suddenly, out of compulsion, his fist was slamming into the glass, shattering the fragile cover protecting a mere memory.

In the explosion of glass, sand came too, protecting his white-knuckled (though it could hardly be distinguished from the rest of his hand)fist from being damaged. Ignoring it, Gaara reached around him, blind, grabbing an extra jagged piece and with a shaking arm, raised it high above his wrist, bringing it down sharply.

Again, a wave of sand rose up, protecting him from himself.

"L-LET ME!" he demanded, raising his fist again, which shook worse than the first time.

**What the fuck? Kid! Stop it! You're not doing anything!**

"N-NO! Wh-why…?" he asked, his voice breaking into a sob, turning his face into the rough carpet and sobbing, bringing his arm up and slamming it back down, each attempt doing nothing more than the last. It was as if he was hoping to penetrate the sand.

**KID, STOP IT!**

A rope of sand snaked up Gaara's arm, grabbing his wrist and keeping it suspended, unable to crash down into his still unscathed wrist.

**I'm not stupid; you're not doing anything!**

"WH-WHY? YO-YOU LET HIM HIT ME! L-LET _ME_ H-HIT ME!" he screamed in between sobs, fighting the gritty substance holding him back.

**Yeah, and are you dead? No! You'll kill yourself!**

"Th-that's the point…I w-want to die…" Hysteric sobs had calmed to a stammering whisper, Gaara's strength leaving him as he sunk into the carpet, feeling his chest restrict, but not caring.

* * *

Neji wasn't sure what had happened, but obviously, it was bad. Kankurou and Temari seemed to be freaking out over it, and assuming that Gaara must be very hurt, he did too, running upstairs as fast as he could. The first door to check was Temari's room, so he threw the door open. 

Nothing. He closed it with a bang, running to Kankurou's room, making a quick scour of the mess.

He heard it then.

"WH-WHY? YO-YOU LET HIM HIT ME! L-LET _ME_ H-HIT ME!"

Was that Gaara? The voice had come from across the hall. Part of Neji was relieved because he knew that the redhead was alive now…but something told him he might as well be worse than dead…

Slowly, and swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his way across the hall. He almost didn't want to see what was behind that door; the last closed door. The bathroom was open. This room was the last option.

He heard sobs, and they only ripped his heart further, making one solitary tear find its way to his chin. With shaking hands, Neji turned the doorknob, expecting the worst.

But there was no blood on the walls, not a lot of blood at all, actually. The only blood was…a trail from about the center of the room, where is was a blotch against the carpet, trailing to…

"Oh, god…" Neji breathed, having to turn away. Lying, face down and completely nude was Gaara, a thin rope of sand around his wrist and littering the floor.

_Sand._

_

* * *

My brother isn't exactly the most normal person in the world. No, I'm serious. The only way he was going to live was to put a demon inside of him. Go ahead, don't believe me, but that's the truth. There was apparently this scroll that told of a demon that could give its human vessel extreme power and good health. _

* * *

The demon incarnate…that's why there was sand everywhere…Cautiously, Neji tiptoed into the room, kneeling over Gaara's heaving frame. With shaking, hesitant arms, he reached out to roll him over. However, just as his hands barely ghosted the smaller boy's skin, Gaara gasped, jumping. 

"D-DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Neji bit his lip, retracting his hand shakily. He didn't want to upset Gaara any more than he already was, but one look at how the boy told him how bad he was breathing.

_Asthma._

"G-gaara…" he started. "Gaara…it's me…it's Neji…" He needed to get onto his back. It would be easier for Gaara to breathe and for himself to survey the damage.

These words, however, didn't seem to do much.

"N-NO! D-DON'T TOUCH ME! I'm…I-I'm…di-disgusting…" He sounded like he would've continued to scream, but his voice gave out on him, reducing him to a pathetic sobbing fit into the carpet.

That rough material must not have felt good against wounds Neji was sure adorned his small frame. Knowing that there was no chance of touching Gaara without the younger teen freaking out, Neji decided to look over what he could.

Pale eyes raked down over Gaara's body, noticing two prominent, finger-shaped bruises on his hips, either side, and where the blood was coming from.

He couldn't help it. Turning to the side, Neji heaved, vomiting what he had eaten for lunch. There was no way…no way…

Gaara was practically worse than dead…

And he _would _be dead if Neji didn't manage to flip him over. He was lying in such an angle that was hindering his breathing, which was already shallow, most likely from asthma.

Determined to not let the redhead's little cries throw him off, Neji approached again, reaching out and placing a hand gently on Gaara's side. Trying very hard to ignore Gaara's whimpering pleas for him to stop, Neji rolled him over quickly; almost wishing he hadn't at the sight.

Gaara's front was ten times worse than his back, or at least his face was to Neji. Tears continued to pour down a trail traveled many times before, soaking his face and making his eyes almost glow red.

"P-please…please d-don't look at me…" he whimpered, sounding so pathetic, Neji felt his own tears start to fall.

Or had they been there for a while? He couldn't tell.

"Gaara…Gaara, I'm so sorry," he whispered, reaching out to brush the shining wetness from the redhead's face.

"N-NO! D-DON'T TOUCH ME!" Gaara screeched, attempting to back away from him, but only succeeding in slamming his head into a wall. He didn't bring his hands up to hold his head in anguish, or even cried.

No, Neji decided that would've been better. Instead, he coughed.

_ASTHMA._

Neji hoped he would just stop, but he didn't, each cough wracking his frame, jarring him in a way that must've been utter agony to his already-wounded body. Without thinking, Neji called out for help.

"K-KANKUROU!"

* * *

Kankurou was going into frenzy. Whenever Gaara had done something exceptionally 'bad', their father would take him down here. Normally, Gaara avoided being 'bad' at all costs, so it was rare, but Kankurou had a feeling that the redhead had been severely punished. 

He wasn't down here at all, though. That's what scared Kankurou. He didn't know where else to look. His mind was panicked; he couldn't even think of looking elsewhere.

He had torn up the basement in his haste to find Gaara, knocking over the washing machine, even. But still, amongst the steel-gray and dust, there was no splotch of red, either signifying hair or blood.

He had hoped for the former at first, but now, he was desperate to be overjoyed to find the latter, too. He needed to find his brother. Instinct (and the look on his father's face) told him that Gaara was injured…possibly beyond repair.

During a lull in his search, in which he paused for frantic thought, a noise rang through the house.

"K-KANKUROU!"

Neji. It was Neji. Neji was upstairs. Sprinting up the basement stairs, and not caring when he cut his foot on the sharp metal edge lining the stairs, he darted up the stairs, unsure where to go next.

"Neji?" he called, his voice wavering.

"In here!"

The voice had come in the direction of his father's room.

Oh, god no…not there…

Anywhere but there…none of them had ever been punished in there…it must've been something horrible…something…something unfixable…

Slowly, he stepped into the room, his heart thudding in his ears, afraid of what he'd find. Surprisingly, his suspicions had been exaggerated, Gaara was not dead, and he didn't look too maimed in any way.

But…

Oh, god…

The realization struck him then and he crashed to his knees, one hand coming up to guard his mouth, as if to act as a levee for the bile rising in his throat. It took him just a second to realize that Neji was sobbing and Gaara was coughing.

…Coughing…

"Shit, he's having an asthma attack!" he cried, deciding to put the trauma of what had so obviously happened away for later. "TEMARI!" he screeched. "TEMARI, WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR INHALER?"

He was panicking; he didn't know what to do. What if it didn't work? What if it was too late?

A moment later, though, a slightly breathless Temari made it up the stairs, eyes wide with fear. "Wh-what?"

"Where's your inhaler? There's no time to explain!"

"I-it's in my room, on the dresser!" she told him quickly, rushing to get it. When she entered the master bedroom, she gasped sharply, the white device which was currently their Jesus slipping out of her hand and to the floor.

Kankurou wanted to comfort her, but he knew it would have to wait, because Gaara needed taking care of, and he needed it now. Rushing over to the hysterical redhead, Kankurou fell to his knees, touching his brother's shoulder.

He seemed to just freak out, as if he was stumbling to say something, but choked on his own words, only increasing the violence of his coughing fit.

"Gaara! Calm down!" he told him, not meaning to yell, but for some reason thinking that the noise would somehow pull Gaara from his hysteria.

Kankurou gripped his brother's shoulder firmly, but not tight enough to cause pain. He reached around and felt for the inhaler, grabbing it when he found it and holding it up to Gaara's lips.

With a sudden violence, Gaara pulled away, still choking and trying to breathe, not able to get anything into his lungs. Kankurou bit his lip. This wasn't working!

* * *

**Gaara POV**

It hurts...everything hurts...it never hurt like this before...please make the hurt stop...

Don't touch me! Please don't touch me! I'm too dirty for you, Neji; can't you see it? Can't you see my filth? Please…please don't touch me! Am I crying? Oh, god, don't, cry; Neji will think I'm even more worthless than I already am!

I don't deserve him…but I know I won't be able to live if he rejects me. Maybe…I'll die right here. More pain...will the pain kill me? Can I die now?

Wait…

WAIT!

BREATHE!

NO, IT CAN'T! Just…BREATHE! COME ON! I don't want to die! I didn't mean it!Temari…Kankurou…please... I don't want to die!

Don't touch me! Just stop touching me! I don't care anymore, I'll breathe on my own! I don't need help! DON'T TOUCH ME!

What's going on?

NO! GET THAT THING AWAY!

I won't suck…not again…I refuse…I won't do it this time! Get it away from me! No, no, no, I'm sorry, so, so, sorry, Daddy, please don't do it! I'll be good, I swear, please! Please, it hurt so bad don't do it again!

GET IT AWAY!

I won't suck! I won't let it happen!

Please…someone…save me…

**End POV**

* * *

"Kankurou…Kankurou, what are we going to do?" Temari asked, tears streaming down her face. They were all crying, Kankurou realized when he felt the wetness leaving burning trails down his cheeks. 

He had no idea…there was nothing he could think of that would help.

Well…

No…they couldn't…

But it had gone too far this time…no; he'd do it. It would end right now.

Looking up, his eyes shining with tears, he met Temari's panicked gaze. "We're going," he began slowly, trying to keep his voice even. "To call the police. I don't give a fuck anymore; it ends right now."

* * *

I'M SO HORRIBLEEEEE! AAAAHHHH! You all deserve to FLAME me for this I'm such a bad person, I'm crying! This one isn't as long as the other…but…I'M SO HORRIBLE! 


	26. Promise

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: The muse is attacking me.

Disclaimer: …Would this fanfic seriously have…this is the 26th……….whoa…26…. that's a big number…

Gaara: She doesn't own it and now she's in disbelief.

* * *

"_We're going…to call the police."_

Neji hadn't been paying attention; he was too busy watching Gaara, trying to mentally will him to breathe, and to trust him again. He was being foolish, but he didn't care. He had tried to block out the possibility that Gaara might die, the fact that he had been brutally raped.

He tried to go back to happier times…had anything ever been 'happy' for these three, though? How blind had he been? He had been informed of what went on, but he never truly…comprehended it. How he regretted that…

"I DON'T CARE, JUST HURRY, GODDAMMIT!"

Neji jumped, turning to Kankurou, who was screaming at the portable phone, eyes wide and panicked looking. His hands were shaking. He probably wouldn't remember half of what he was doing in three hours' time.

The phone was in Kankurou's hand, not by his ear, and Neji could faintly hear a clear, feminine voice telling Kankurou to calm down and tell her the situation. Obviously, Kankurou could hear it too, because it only seemed to distress him further.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN; MY BROTHER IS FUCKING DYING OVER HERE AND WE NEED A FUCKING AMBULENCE OR SOMETHING!"

And then there was dial tone.

"Th-they'll have called something, Kankurou," Temari said in a small voice. "He's g-gonna be okay…"

Who was she assuring, Kankurou? Herself? Neji?

There was silence in the room, thick as whole milk that was only broken by Gaara's stuttering gasps for air. They were getting less frequent. Was he losing his will to live? Did he ever _have_ a will to live?

Neji wanted to know…he wanted to know everything. He wanted to make Gaara happy, happier than he had ever been in 11, perhaps even 14 years. His wishes, which he was willing to become reality, were broken, however, by the crooning of a siren, waxing in volume.

It was close. Gaara was going to be okay. Without thinking, he bent over and scooped up the ailing redhead into his arms, ignoring his panicked burst of attempted breath and sprinted down the stairs. He would've jumped the whole flight if there weren't the risk of hurting Gaara.

Behind him, he could hear Kankurou and Temari, running after him, but he didn't acknowledge them, zooming out the door to meet the ambulance that came. Neighbors were either on their porches or peering out their windows, some wearing faces of shock at the sight.

There were three men rushing out of the ambulance, two holding a stretcher suspended between them and one who would obviously be doing the operating. The third doctor took Gaara and laid him on the stretcher.

"Please step away from the victim," he said calmly. Neji knew he wasn't just talking to him; Kankurou was pretty much ahead of him, trying to see if Gaara would be okay, Temari was close, and neighbors had come outside out of curiosity.

Everyone gathered abided, taking a few steps back and forming a small circle around the doctors and Gaara. Kankurou obviously wasn't happy with the amount of neighbors out here; he growled menacingly.

"What the hell are you all looking at? Get away!" he told them, glaring.

"We have a right to know what happens in this neighborhood!"

"Yeah!"

"Your family is such a disruption anyways, with all the screaming!"

Wincing, Kankurou backed down, turning gentler eyes on his brother, who was currently panicking under the doctor's mandatory ministrations to check his vitals. Another doctor who must have been in the ambulance poked his head out and the two with the stretcher lifted him up into the vehicle.

The third doctor turned to the crowd. "Anyone who was not a direct witness to what happened, leave," he said in the same calm voice he had when he told him or her to back away. Slowly, the crowd of curious neighbors dissipated, much to Kankurou's relief. If they were too stupid to figure out what the screaming had been, or just not cared enough to report anything, then they shouldn't have been allowed to stay.

"Can anyone tell me what happened?"

Three voices started explaining at once, pretty much all around the same lines of "This has been going on for years" "…never thought it would go this far…" and "…raped…"

"One at a time," he asked, his tone never changing. He nodded at Temari.

"W-well…s-see…this has…been going on for some time…b-but we never thought…th-th-thought it w-would get this bad…a-and…and…" she broke down crying, collapsing onto her knees. Kankurou bent down to comfort her.

"He….h-he was raped…" he finished for her, his voice shaking.

The man turned to Neji. "I-I'm Gaara's boyfriend," he stammered. "We were to have our first date after school…and…he said he wanted to go home and clean up by himself…and when we got here he had…. I-it had…. al-already happened…"

"All right, so you two are relatives?" he asked Temari and Kankurou. Neji suddenly felt oddly out of place. Sure, he was involved with this…he had been the one to find Gaara…but he wasn't family.

Non-relatives weren't allowed to ride in the ambulances.

"Okay, which of you two is older?"

"Th-that would be me…" Temari stammered, standing up and wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Do you think you can calm him down?"

A tiny, sad smile twitched at the corners of the blonde's mouth. "Oh, no, definitely not…I'd be hysterical, too…"

"All right, and you?" he asked Kankurou.

After a moment's consideration, Kankurou nodded. "Yeah…I can get him to calm down…usually. But this time…he was just freaking out and he wouldn't let us touch him."

"He wouldn't let you two touch him after he had the attack…I was the only one there beforehand…" Neji muttered quietly. Kankurou however heard him and nodded. "Then…yeah, I think I can calm him."

Neji watched, numb as Kankurou climbed into the vehicle, Temari wiping tears from her eyes, sniffling loudly. When the car drove off, she turned to Neji.

"Gaara really likes you," she told him. "Really…_really_ likes you…you're the first friend he's ever had."

He knew that Gaara liked him…he even knew that Gaara was beginning to trust him, if only very faintly. But had he destroyed that? This had been his fault…the ambulance wouldn't have had to come if Gaara hadn't had the asthma attack. Oh, god, this was all his fault!

* * *

"_Gaara…Gaara, I'm so sorry," he whispered, reaching out to brush the shining wetness from the redhead's face._

"_N-NO! D-DON'T TOUCH ME!" Gaara screeched, attempting to back away from him, but only succeeding in slamming his head into a wall. He didn't bring his hands up to hold his head in anguish, or even cry._

_No, Neji decided that would've been better. Instead, he coughed._

ASTHMA.

* * *

He hadn't listened…if he had just listened to Gaara and not touched him; he wouldn't have panicked and had the attack! All this was his fault! 

"T-temari," he started. "Temari…I'm sorry…"

Temari stared at him with tear-filled eyes. None, however, fell. "For what?"

"It's my fault he had the attack," he whispered, turning his gaze to his feet.

"No it's not…Neji…I have asthma, too…severe trauma aids it," she told him.

Neji stared. Why wasn't she having an attack, then? Of all of them, it had been she who had reacted the most, completely panicking.

"I've had it all my life, and mine isn't nearly as bad as his. He uses my inhaler, and…well, our prescriptions aren't the same," she told him.

"…Oh…hey, Temari?" he asked, suddenly realizing something.

"Yeah?" she answered absently, staring in the direction the ambulance had gone.

"Um…well…how are _we_ going to get to the hospital?"

"…TARTA?"

"…I guess so."

* * *

Kankurou bit his lip. This moment would haunt him for the rest of his night; he knew it. Obviously, the whole thing would haunt him…but this moment…he knew that it would be etched deeper than ever. 

He hated ambulances. He had never noticed until now, mostly because he had never had an excuse to ride in one. He didn't exactly mind that, though. He hated being helpless…and all he could do was watch as the doctors worked on his brother, making random notes.

At first, it was the obvious things, stuff that Kankurou had known for years, like how abnormally thin he was and that his bones were extremely small, his frame naturally petite. But, as the list went on, Kankurou was beginning to doubt thirteen years' worth of knowledge. Had Gaara always been that pale? The doctors said it was unhealthy…he either needed sun or he was anemic. Kankurou was pretty sure his brother wasn't anemic, and he voiced this opinion, to which the doctors gave him a look and said that they'd have to find out.

Also, had his elbow always stuck out in that angle when his arm was bent, as it was now, as the doctors were checking for broken bones? Kankurou couldn't remember any confrontation that had left him with his arm like that…was it possibly natural? Now that he thought about it, just how unhealthy _was_ Gaara? He acknowledged the fact that he was extremely underweight…but the doctors were making it sound like it could be fatal. Was it that serious? He had never known…

Was this a good thing? He wasn't sure anymore. He knew that it all needed to be stopped; that Gaara needed to be taken away…but…

Why was he so afraid? This was beginning to anger him; how long had he wanted to get out of the frozen clutches of their father? Why now, when he had the chance to escape, was he having second thoughts?

'Because,' that annoying voice in the back of his head provided, 'you knew it wouldn't work. Especially in Sunaga.'

Scowling to himself, Kankurou begrudgingly admitted to himself that it was probably true. He had just wanted…no, _needed_ assurance, even if it was false or completely unbelievable. He needed the lie to keep him going to keep his withering family together. He didn't like to admit it, but he envied families that could be completely together with no one gone and left, vital figures dead, and no abuse.

To him, it was a fantastical world; too good to be true. He did know, however that kids like that everywhere led that lifestyle. Despite how routine the happenings at home had come to seem, he knew that they were the minority.

The vehicle was stopping; they were in the emergency parking lot. There was no turning back now; he would have to just go along with it and hope that everything would turn out okay.

No, there was no hope – everything _would_ turn out okay. That was the mind frame he needed. Realizing that he hadn't needed to do anything since Gaara had slipped into the bliss of ignorance to his frantic surroundings, Kankurou followed the quick-moving doctors, telling him that he would stay as close to Gaara as authority allowed, and he would only listen to authority if he saw it fair.

When they had made it to the ER waiting room

_(Oh god not here anywhere but here that means it's really bad and if it's really bad then there's something really wrong please please please let him be okay)_

the doctors told him to stop there and wait, since they were sure that he wouldn't be aloud in the operating room and that he was to just wait in the designated waiting room. He didn't like this, not one bit. If Gaara were to awaken, Kankurou knew that he would freak out on the doctors merely trying to assist him, which might injure his battered body further. The chances of that, though, were slim. He suspected that the doctors had done something to assure that Gaara would remain unconscious until they were done with what they needed to do.

Where were Temari and Neji?

* * *

TARTA had never been so disappointing. The world seemed to be conspiring, as if trying to say that the hospital was absolutely off-limits and Gaara was officially an untouchable. This was the most people that Neji had ever witnessed on one bus, and he had been consistently riding TARTA for two years. 

He looked over at Temari. The older girl had obviously not ridden TARTA often. When they had gotten on the bus at the corner of their two streets, they had been forced to stand, and now, a little more than halfway to the hospital, they were still standing, hands clenched on the yellow bar above them.

Neji wished for at least one seat to open up; he had long ago obtained his 'bus feet', but Temari obviously had not and needed to sit down. All the stress and panic probably wasn't helping either. Letting go of the bar, he inched closer to the blonde, ready to catch her if she collapsed, like she looked ready to.

Every TARTA bus sign was stopped at, it seemed. At each stop, people got off, but then people got on, too. Because the stop signs were approximately every other block, the large bus was stopping a lot, so it delayed the could-have-been-ten-minute drive to the hospital. It had taken approximately twenty-five minutes already, Neji guessed.

Glancing at his wrist, his guess was confirmed. School let out at 2:25. They had made it to the Sabaku house at about 3:00, and gotten Gaara out of it by 3:15. He and Temari had been on the bus for a half of an hour, and they still had many TARTA stops to cover before the one near the hospital, where they would get off.

Four stops later, they were close, very close. The stop they would be getting off at was within three stops, but now they were in heavy traffic due to construction. Neji growled in impatience. Gaara was in the hospital, hurt (possibly) severely, and they couldn't even make it to see him! He needed them!

Finally, the light changed and the bus began inching forward again. No one seemed to be getting off at these stops, so they went neglected. They were close; the hospital was in sight. The next stop would be theirs.

Reaching over the head of a disgruntled middle-aged woman, Neji yanked on the yellow cord to signify he wanted to be let off. The bus slowed to a stop and opened the front doors. Sadly, the back ones must have been out of order, because those doors didn't open. He and Temari were in the back. Grabbing the older girl's wrist, he pulled them both through the crowd, exiting through the front doors.

The bus roared off, black smoke traveling in its wake. Temari, who had seemed very distant during the bus ride, seemed to come back to awareness at the looming sight of the hospital building before them and ran in its direction, leaving Neji to follow behind her.

Sprinting to the doors, they stopped for just a moment to catch their breath before stepping through the automatic doors. The main lobby wasn't empty, but it wasn't nearly as jam-packed as the TARTA bus had been. The receptionist desk had no line, so Neji and Temari made their way over, waiting patiently for the blonde woman there to acknowledge them.

After just a moment, the girl looked up at them, and in a voice far too deep to be feminine, asked what they needed. ''She's a 'he',' Neji noted. Before he had gotten a chance to ask his question, though, Temari had beaten him to it.

"We're here to see Sabaku Gaara," she said quietly, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of use. The boy looked at her, probably taking in her still-red and puffy eyes before nodding and turning to the computer. Neji noted briefly that his nametag read "Deidara", but he didn't really care.

After a moment, Deidara turned to them again. "He's in ER right now, but if you want, you can wait in the ER waiting room," he informed them. "It's on the seventh floor."

Neji nodded his thanks, paling slightly. Next to him, Temari had turned as pale as her brother. Silently, they walked to the elevator, pushing the 'up' button and waiting for the brass doors to open.

While they waited, Neji found himself making random observations. 'This place smells like shit…it's too…clean. It's unnerving,' he thought. Next to him, Temari appeared to be having more of a mental war than he did. Her face was clouded with worry and fear, but Neji couldn't bring himself to speak to her, unsure of what to say.

* * *

'E…R,' she thought, slowly. 'He's in ER…That…that's not good…what if…Oh, god…what if…' cutting herself off, Temari tried to force herself to think positive thoughts. Gaara would be okay; Kankurou had been with him. The redhead trusted both of his siblings with his life and more, if Kankurou was there, he'd be okay. 

'But…he hadn't even let _Kankurou_ touch him back there,' she remembered. 'He wouldn't let anyone touch him…what if he's still that delusional? Hopefully, the doctors would've fixed it, but…' Gaara had always been afraid of doctors. All three of them hadn't seen a doctor in over 11 years; their father was afraid his secret would be discovered. Gaara had it drilled into his brain that doctors were the epitome of evil, and that if he saw one, he would be severely punished.

"…Which would only make him freak out more…" she mumbled, not meaning to speak.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Neji inquired next to her. The elevator doors in front of them had opened and both of them stepped in, Temari reaching over to push the floor number '7'.

"No, nothing…" she told him, waiting. The elevator went up, making her feel slightly nauseous, and they stepped out, looking around. They were at the waiting room, and sitting in one of the hard, plastic blue chairs was…

"Kankurou!" Temari called out, hardly raising her voice, which was weak. The brunette turned his head and waved half-heartedly. With more energy to their walk, Temari and Neji crossed the waiting room, taking seats on either side of Kankurou. Closer up, they could see his eyes were tired and sorrowful, but there was some fear in there, too.

"Is…he going to be okay?" Temari asked tentatively, anxious for a response. Kankurou shook his head, but before terror could fill them, added, "I have no idea, yet…"

They waited in an antagonizing silence, observing the room around them. Everyone's face probably mirrored her own, Temari realized: Stony, sorrowful, and scared. Were there children going to make it? She didn't know. She hoped so, though; those parents _cared._ Those parents weren't like her father, who was the reason Gaara was in here in the first place. They strived to see their children succeed, not to push them down more levels than any child can bear with their self-esteem.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, although according to the clock on the wall, it had only been twenty minutes, a man in a white coat stepped into the room. All eyes turned to him, hopeful and dreading at the same time.

"Is there anyone here for Sabaku Gaara?" he asked, his businesslike tone not telling anyone whether he was okay or not. Immediately, Kankurou, Temari, and Neji stood up, eyes wide and yearning for information. The doctor beckoned them closer. They shuffled over, and he said, in a tone low enough that only they could hear,

"He'll be okay, physically. His right elbow was probably broken at one point and now it sticks out at an abnormal angle, but he can still use his right arm; the injury appears to have been done a while ago. Nothing is really broken, he just has some minor cuts and severe bruises, but his mental state…" The man trailed off, letting Temari, Kankurou, and Neji figure it out.

There was complete silence for a minute. They had all known that mentally, Gaara wouldn't be okay, not for a long time, if ever. They could only hope that somehow, they could make it up to him, make him see that he had worth in this world, like everyone else.

"Can…we see him?" Neji asked nervously, chewing on his lower lip. The doctor's eyes immediately softened.

"Yes, but only one visitor at a time. Are all of you family?" he told them.

"No, she and I are family, and Neji is Gaara's boyfriend," Kankurou said, his voice a lot smaller than normal. "Is Neji still okay to see him?"

"Yes, that will be fine. Which of you wants to see him first?"

Temari and Neji exchanged glances, and then looked at Kankurou. The brunette stared back, before getting it. "Wh-what? Me? Are you sure?"

"Positive. You rode with him on the ambulance, Nii-chan," Temari reminded him. "And, chances are, if he's awake, he might need your assurance that everything's okay or he'll freak out."

After a slight mental battle, Kankurou nodded, turning to the doctor, who nodded also and led him down the hall. Temari and Neji sat back down, a large weight lifted off their shoulders, but both knowing that it wasn't over yet.

* * *

Kankurou was nervous as he followed the doctor down the hall. What if Gaara didn't want to see him? What if Gaara didn't want to see anybody? He knew that his brother would change from what had happened, but what if it was so severe that he wouldn't want them anymore? 

The questions plaguing him, the doctor stopped in front of a door and opened it, giving Kankurou entrance. This room, ('Like the rest of the damn building,' Kankurou thought sourly) was a stark white, the bed, the floor, the walls, the curtains, which were tightly closed, and everything but a splotch of red over the pillow that Kankurou recognized as Gaara's hair and two tiny black circles that represented his brother's insomnia.

He wasn't awake, but the demon wasn't doing anything either. Taking a few cautious steps, Kankurou pulled up a chair, hoping to be quiet about it. He had no such luck, however, the chair scraping across the floor loudly. Wincing, and carefully looking over Gaara to insure that the redhead was still unconscious, he sat, staring at his brother for a moment.

Surrounded by all the painfully white blankets, he looked so much smaller than normal. One hand, looking nearly tanned against the bleached world was clutched into one of the folds. The room was silent with the exception of the rasping oxygen machine and the steady, annoying but at the same time, assuring beeping of the heart monitor.

Kankurou reached out, his fingertips brushing against Gaara's creamy hand. Its warmth calmed him for some reason, and he allowed his own, much larger, much darker hand to cover it, squeezing gently. Remembering some of the soap operas Temari watched from time to time, the thought that Gaara might be able to hear him crossed his mind.

It was worth a shot…

"Hey…" he started, his voice hardly a whisper. Clearing his throat, he willed himself to sound more confident. Gaara didn't need to hear how scared he had been, because then he'd feel bad. 'Worse,' Kankurou reminded himself grimly.

"Gaara…I'm sorry…" he couldn't stop his voice from cracking, and he realized how badly he wanted to cry. "If…if, you know…we had just told you that Neji _really_ wouldn't mind, truly and utterly, maybe…y-you wouldn't have gone home alone an-and…" he swallowed, willing the bile that he risen in his throat to go back down.

"I…w-want to hope that you're g-gonna be okay…but…God, Gaara…I'm sorry…really, I am…can you ever find a way to forgive me?" he asked, begged nearly. Gaara didn't answer him.

However, he might've been wrong, but Kankurou was _sure_ that he felt the tiny hand beneath his twitch.

* * *

Now that they were assured that Gaara was going to be okay, Temari and Neji were more anxious to see him than anything. They knew that he might never be 'okay', but they could help him be at least a little happy. They weren't worrying about that quite yet. Now, they just wanted to see him, to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. 

'I wonder if he's awake,' Neji thought. 'I want to apologize…apologize for just…everything, being stupid, not insisting that the mess was okay…' He knew it was bad to blame himself, but he'd rather it be 'his fault' than 'Gaara's fault'. He'd take the blame. He'd take everything away…

He wanted Gaara to be free. Gaara deserved to be free after eleven years of being stapled down, at least once a day the staples reinforced, pinning him down and rendering him helpless. Perhaps now, in the light of the fact that he was hospitalized, those staples would be lifted from deep in the ground, letting the redhead fly…

He barely registered the fact that Kankurou had returned to the waiting room until he started talking. Blinking, Neji wondered where he had gotten so poetic, but forced the thought away so he could listen to what the brunette had to say.

"No, he's not up…he looks like he'll be okay, though," Kankurou was saying to Temari, who was chewing on her nails, though they had been long-reduced to stubs.

"O-okay…Neji…do you want to go next?" Temari asked him, unshed tears still shining in her eyes. She said she wanted Neji to go next, but the longhaired teen saw that her eyes gave it away: she wanted to see her brother. Finding himself not wanting to deprive the girl of her injured family, he shook his head.

"No, you can go next, and I'll go last. It's okay, really," he told her leaning back against the uncomfortable plastic. Closing his eyes, he thought absently, 'If people wait in here so much, they should really put more comfortable furnishings around…'

Next to him, Kankurou was sitting on the edge of the chair, but leaned back so his head was hanging over the back of it. It didn't look very comfortable, but Neji couldn't be sure that was true. He looked troubled.

"So…he's not awake?" he started nervously, unsure how to start the conversation.

One bleary green eye opened and peered at him before Kankurou sighed, fixing his position in the chair so he was upright, shaking his head. "No…but, in truth, now that they've got him to calm down, he doesn't look that bad right now. The doctor said severe bruising, but there are only a couple on his face."

Neji nodded, somewhat pleased. "Do you think he'll be…okay?" he asked. _He_ thought Gaara would be okay, eventually, but he couldn't be so sure of himself anymore. Kankurou had known the true severity of what their father had done for years, he, just an intruder, had not.

The brunette didn't answer for a moment, but just when Neji thought the conversation was over, he spoke, quietly.

"I think…. that it'll take a long time…ten years even, but…I think that with you around, Gaara will be okay," he told him, fidgeting in his chair, as if the topic of conversation was making him feel uncomfortable. Catching the hint, Neji backed off, sitting back in his seat and sighing, his thoughts once more centering on the redhead just a few rooms away from him.

* * *

Temari gulped as she entered the room. There, in the bed, looking like an angel to her was Gaara, an oxygen mask covering his thin face and an IV hooked up to his arm. Ignoring the noises of machinery keeping her brother alive, she crossed the room and sat in the chair by the bed, merely watching him sleep. She knew that Shukaku wouldn't impede on _this_ time of resting. 

Whenever Gaara slept, as rare as it was, all the stress and pain fled from his face, revealing the three year old innocence that shone through, though Gaara's face was devoid of any form of fat and the three year old that Temari was so strongly reminded of had cute, pudgy baby cheeks.

She couldn't help the tiny, sad smile that formed when she remembered the happy toddler, reaching out to brush her fingers against his cheek, much more bony than it should've been. He seemed so fragile under her fingers, like if she touched him any more than the gentle caress, he'd crumble, irreparable. While his fair skin was warm, he still seemed so dead to her, not flinching when she touched him like he normally would.

The only thing that completely assured her that Gaara was alive was the beeping of the heart monitor, which she was grateful for. Slowly, her touch moved from his cheek to his temple, barely ghosting a deep bruise. She had almost hoped that he would react, just to let her know that he really wasn't dead and the steady beeping beside her was no joke.

To her disappointment, Gaara didn't stir whatsoever, nothing changing in its eerie rhythm. Part of her felt guilty; Gaara sleeping like this was a good thing. She had just wanted to see him show some signs of life, though…anything would appease her right now. She needed to know that her baby brother was really going to make it. Words meant nothing; she needed _Gaara_ to show her.

A single tear sliding down her face, Temari leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the redhead's forehead, smoothing crimson away from porcelain. She pulled away, sniffling, just staring at her brother for any signs of change. Other than a couple of her tears on his forehead, he hadn't changed at all. He still looked serene and, for once, at peace.

_Serene…_

_At peace…_

Isn't that what she wanted him to be? For eleven years, it had been in her highest hopes that one day, Gaara could be peaceful again. Here, lying against the colorless hospital bed, he looked tranquil. Perhaps he was. His face didn't show if he was dreaming or not. If he was, was it a good dream? Was it, for once, not a nightmare? She couldn't be sure.

But one thing, she _was_ certain on: he was really going to be okay. She could tell just by looking at him. The hospital would help. Doctors weren't bad, she realized. Doctors wouldn't hurt them, they never would've. They really were heroes; she had never believed it before. She would need to start donating to the Red Cross…

* * *

After he and Kankurou's short conversation, Neji sat in silence, his thoughts engulfing him. He had come to the realization that Gaara probably wouldn't want to be with him anymore. This was like a stab to his already-wounded heart, but he bit his lip, waiting for his turn more than ever so he could try to confront Gaara about it. 

He didn't want to corner him with questions, of course, since he had been raped (he winced at the thought) not even six hours ago, but…if he was willing to talk…this was the first thing that needed to be sorted between them. Neji didn't want to push it with him, not at all, and he knew that while Gaara was already skittish about being touched, now, he would be paranoid, if not phobic about it. They either needed to remain as friends for the time being, or just never hook up. Perhaps it would be in Gaara's best interest.

Something told him, though, a small little something, that Gaara feared _his_ rejection as much as he feared the redhead's. While it made sense to him now and he could almost accept that Gaara would most likely never want to see him again, he knew that when it actually happened, something inside of him would die. There was no preparing for it.

Unlike when Kankurou had stepped out of the hallway, Neji noticed immediately when Temari came in. He had been waiting, though he tried not to let it show. She gave him a look that told him it was his turn and he stood up, resisting the urge to sprint to Gaara's room to see if he was awake. He needed to keep his composure.

When he entered the room, Neji had to admit that he was disappointed to find Gaara eerily peaceful, unconscious. He crossed the room, taking a seat in the chair, which was still warm. He suspected that both Temari and Kankurou had sat in it also.

'The white compliments him,' Neji thought, nearly surprised. He didn't look so unhealthily pale, but surrounded by the bright reality, the visible bruises littering his face were much more pronounced. He knew they weren't serious, but it still sparked an anger inside of him that raged into a dangerous storm of fire, feeding off of the drought that was his previous ignorance towards the boy laying, relying on an oxygen mask to breathe properly.

"Gaara," he breathed, feeling tears start to moisten his cheeks. "Gaara…I…I don't know what to say…this is my fault…"

Was it a trick of the light, or had Gaara's face twitched? Was he stirring? Neji's heart thudded in his chest. He wasn't sure if he could face those big green eyes right now. He stared, unblinking at the redhead's face for a moment, holding his breath. When Gaara remained motionless he let the air out slowly, relieved.

He wasn't sure what he was so afraid of. Gaara couldn't physically harm him in any way if he had woken up, no, but Neji dreaded the rejection he fully expected from him. Was _that_ his fear? Yes, he thought it was. The sensible part of his mind told him that Gaara would never do that to him, and that he probably feared the same thing…but he was afraid. And fear did things to people.

"If…if you want to…you know, n-not do this anymore," he continued, his voice shaking even though Gaara couldn't respond to him. "I…I-I understand…but…I just…I don't know. I-it might be best for you…but…I think I love you, I c-can't leave you!" he sobbed, putting his face in his hands to hide his tears rather obviously.

Next to him, though he couldn't see it, Gaara's brow furrowed, his head turning just slightly to the side. Neji, lost in his misery, did not notice it. He looked back up, not realizing the difference. "Gaara…God, Gaara, I need an answer…do…do you st-still want to be with me?"

He stared at the redhead; trying to will him to awaken this time. When Gaara remained as he was, he sniffled, placing his head back into his hands and rocking gently. He had never felt like this about anyone else before, it must've been love, he concluded. It was all out the window, he knew it. He might as well just leave, Gaara wasn't going to answer him, and even if he did, there was such a chance that he would say no…

Mortified of the rejection, Neji stood up, causing the chair to scoot back loudly. With tears still streaming down his face, he turned to the door, ready to open it and leave. He had made it half way across the room, however, when a tiny, nearly inaudible sound reached his trained ears.

"N-neji…"

Neji spun back around, white eyes as wide as saucers. The first thing that struck him was two glazed over jade orbs; Gaara was awake. Had he heard him? Was he going to reject him now? Neji was unsure, but he found himself walking back to the bed, standing in front of Gaara.

"G-gaara," he whispered, one hand reaching out to cup his cheek. Instinctively, Gaara flinched, but Neji tried to pretend that he hadn't. "Gaara, I'm so sorry," he began.

"P-please," Gaara cut him off, his voice extremely weak and hard to hear over the machinery around him. "P-please d-don't apo-apologize anymore…A-and," fear lit up his eyes, shining brightly, and Neji wanted to go out and kill whatever caused that fear right now. "P-please don't…d-don't leave me!" he cried, a tear falling from one eye and, because of gravity, glided over his nose to disappear into the white pillow.

Neji stared at him. Gaara had been afraid of his rejection. He had noted that he _might_ be, but the look in his eyes…he was truly terrified! Neji couldn't bear to see him that afraid, couldn't bear to break him with rejection. Giving the redhead a watery smile, he gently picked up Gaara's hand, planting a gentle kiss on it before responding.

"I won't…and that's a promise."

At his words, Gaara began to sob, turning to bury his face into the pillow. Concerned, Neji bent over him, the hand that wasn't encasing the smaller, thinner one stroking his hair. "Gaara? What's wrong?" he asked, confused.

Slowly, Gaara turned to face him again, tears still leaking from his eyes at a slow pace. "I…I don-don't deserve y-you," he told him, averting his gaze. "J-just look at m-me…"

"You're beautiful," Neji told him firmly. "You've always been beautiful." Reaching out again, he cupped Gaara's chin gently, staring into his eyes. Sadness, pain, and some lingering fear shone like neon signs, but there was also relief in there too.

What was he doing? He was leaning closer, and Gaara didn't seem to mind. His face was nearing the redhead's; should he stop? He didn't know, his heart was thudding in his ears, blocking out the sound of the heart monitor, which was probably beating at the same pace if not a little faster. They were inches apart now, were they really going to do this?

Suddenly, the door burst open and a doctor came in. "Excuse me, but-" he took in the scene in front of him. Neji's head turned to face him, a blush erupting over his face. He took his hand from Gaara's chin and released his hand, turning to face the doctor.

"I-is my visiting time up?" he asked, his voice higher than normal. Glancing behind him, he could see that Gaara's face was the same shade as he was sure his was, if not darker. The doctor nodded, apologizing softly. "Yes, we need to do some more work."

Neji heard Gaara's breath catch. "M-m-more w-work?" he asked, his voice tiny. "B-but…do-doctors are _bad…_ I-I'm going to be punished!" he cried, a hand coming to cover his mouth. Neji turned back around.

"Gaara," he started. "Gaara, it's okay. These people are going to help you, okay?" he asked him, one hand reaching out to stroke the side of his face. Gaara leaned into the touch, sniffling.

"Doctors are b-bad," he repeated. "I-I'll g-get punished."

"You're not going to be seeing your father after this," the doctor said. "We haven't found him yet, but when we do, he'd going to prison."

Gaara's eyes widened immensely. "O-oh no! I-I…I…N-Neji! I-I h-have to go home! I j-just have to!" he cried. Neji shook his head, leaning over to gently hug him. He was shaking gently under his touch, whether it was from being touched or from the doctor's words, he didn't know. "D-dad'll be s-s-so m-mad an-and he s-s-said h-he'd…h-he'd…" his voice trailed off in a whimper, and Neji felt his anger start to burn again.

"Gaara," he told him. "What he did was _wrong._ What's he's _been_ doing is wrong. You don't deserve that; no one does. Even _he _doesn't deserve the things he did to you. It was beyond evil. You're not going back to him. Even if he wasn't being arrested, I wouldn't let you," he said firmly, petting Gaara's hair. Beneath him, the boy sniffled, but didn't protest further.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself in here with the doctors?" he asked softly, standing up. Gaara considered it, but after a while, nodded. Neji turned to leave, but Gaara grabbed his hand, whimpering. "It's okay," he coaxed, giving the tiny hand a gentle squeeze. After a moment, Gaara released him, and he made his way back to the door, turning to wave to Gaara and give him an assuring smile before exiting.

When he got back to the waiting room, Kankurou was immersed into conversation with a police officer and Temari had fallen asleep laying over a row of chairs. He sat next to where her feet were, staring at the ground. Gaara really _was_ going to be okay, he decided. He had talked to him, even, and he wasn't going to reject him. Things seemed pretty bad now, but they would get better.

That was a promise.

* * *

…Oh, wow, this is long…and sentimental…and I cried writing it. Go figure, I _always_ cry while I'm writing touching things. So…. yeah. I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! It was actually rather funny, yesterday, when this was still only six pages long (it's 15 and a half now) I was like "FSDGFSGFSDGSK OMIGOD, I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN TWO WEEKS!" to Shu-nee-chan, and I went on a typing _storm._ Seriously. I have FINALLY FINISHED THE CHAPTER! BWAHA! 

Oh, and just as a note, the next one is the last. I can't believe it's _ending!_


	27. The Healing Process

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

* * *

Kankurou was nervous; there was no other way to put it. The policemen that had been summoned were tall and intimidating. They looked down on him as though he was a young child of half his sixteen years. This demeanor made him nearly too nervous to speak and he was tempted to chew his sleeve. The only thought chaining this temptation down was that he needed to act professional or this could result disastrous. 

"Do you know where this man is now?" one of the officers asked, a clipboard and pen in hand. After merely fifteen minutes of interrogation, Kankurou found his voice conspiring against him, cutting off his ability of speech. He opted, after a brief pause, to shake his head, feeling ill.

Apparently, his mute response was unsatisfactory. The other man, who seemed to be the more exasperated of the two, shook his head, sighing. "You said the assault occurred at 2:40 in the afternoon, correct?"

Realizing he couldn't nod/shake his head out of this, Kankurou inhaled deeply, searching for his voice. "I-it happened then, but D-dad left at th-three-ish," he stammered, inwardly flinching at his pathetically weak stutter. He hoped the officers could understand his logic; he didn't want to speak again. The time was now 4:30; Kazekage probably wasn't home.

Or…

How could he have been so ignorant? He had thought that since what had happened had been the final straw for he, Temari, and Neji, his father would realize he had done an evil thing and flee. Realization hit him then: his father didn't _care_ anymore. If he had, he wouldn't have even risked doing it without threatening him or Temari and forbidding Neji to come into the house.

Did he realize this was the end? Did he _want_ to get arrested? It would seem like something their father would do, with the excuse being: "I can finally get rid of you", but he had a reputation that he stoked with pride. It was all horribly confusing, and Kankurou realized that the police officers were staring at him, waiting for an answer.

Somewhat startled, he blushed gently, embarrassed at being caught inattentive. "S-sorry…I…was just thinking…" he summoned up his courage; this was the end! "T-that…I th-thought that…Dad might…might flee 'c-cause he knew that he'd re-really get in trouble, this time – "

"This time?" one of the officers, the nearly kinder looking one, asked, marking a note on his clipboard. Kankurou nodded.

"The ab-abuse has been going on for years," he explained. "We've t-tried reporting it, bu-but no one would believe us."

"And why not?" Couldn't he get back to the explanation? Kankurou was slightly annoyed, but he also knew that this would be coming sooner or later.

"Because…w-well…" he realized something. "I n-never mentioned his name, d-did I?"

"No, you didn't, and that would be helpful," the more exasperated officer snapped icily, making Kankurou shrink away inside, feeling belittled.

"S-sabaku Kazekage," he muttered, his heart sinking. They wouldn't believe him, there was no way.

"Sabaku Kazekage," the officer that had snapped deadpanned. "Yeah, sure, kid."

The kinder officer silenced his partner by raising a hand. "Listen, son, this is a serious matter, we need you to honestly identify your father so we can find him-"

"DON'T YOU SEE IT?" Kankurou screeched suddenly. Why? Why wouldn't anyone believe him? "HE'S BEEN LYING TO YOU!" he continued, pointing an accusing finger. He was sick of this, sick of being pushed aside for his accusation to be laughed at later. "Please," he begged, his voice losing the angered edge and reducing to a cracking simper. "Please believe me."

There was silence for a few moments, as if the officers were thinking it over. From their facial expressions, Kankurou could tell that at least the second officer wasn't convinced. Losing hope, he let his gaze sink to the floor, chewing on his lower lip. Finally, the first officer spoke, making the teen jump in bewilderment.

"We'll check it out. This is something really serious to lie about though, we have other people to help," he said, not meaning to make Kankurou feel bad, though he did.

However, a sudden rush of euphoria, making his face break out into a grin, overwhelmed his slight feeling of guilt. "Th-thank you…you…you really don't know, but this means…means so much to me."

"Well, it is our job to help…where do you think your father might be now? You said that you didn't think he was home-"

"That's what I was trying to explain before," Kankurou interjected, with much more energy and confidence than before. "I thought that perhaps he wouldn't go back, because I made such a big deal out of it – rightfully," he added, "I thought he might see it, too, and flee because there was no way we weren't going to tell anyone this time. But, I've realized that if he cared that much, he wouldn't have…had…" he trailed off, euphoria dissolving. He didn't want to confront what had happened to his brother, not with the term, just not yet. "Have…d-done what he did," he finished in a mumble, staring back at his feet.

The first officer nodded, the second one scowling, as if he was truly fed up with the teenager before him. "Okay, that does seem logical, what's your address?"

"6392 Buraudouei," Kankurou told them. "He drives a black Nissan Altima, if that helps," he added, remembering the new car that had been bought a year ago and that he and his siblings had only rode in once, that time being the drive from Sunaga to Konoha.

The officers nodded. "Thank you, we'll be going now. Ebisu will come back to tell you that we have him, and you can confirm. All right?" the first one told him, nodding at his partner. The other officer scowled, obviously displeased, but fixed his sunglasses and sighed, nodding. "Okay, we'll be off, then," he said, turning around and walking through the door.

Kankurou was seized with happiness. Now that the difficult part of actually reporting the abuse was over, it seemed that it was a free ride home. He wasn't thoroughly convinced of _that_ yet, it all seemed to be a dream, but he was willing to accept it as reality. Finally, after eleven years of pain, optimism was getting through.

Waking back to the chairs, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Neji was back. He took a seat, turning to the younger teen. "Hey, is he doing alright?" he asked, keeping his voice to a tone kind to the sleeping Temari next to him. Neji gave him a small smile, but Kankurou really wasn't sure what that meant. He couldn't exactly shrug it off, so he waited, staring at Neji until an answer was given.

"He woke up when I was there," was the simple explanation, with nothing to support it. Kankurou was surprised; Gaara was so small, that any dose of whatever they used to sedate him probably would've kept him out a while. Had he heard he and Temari then? Neji didn't elaborate, but he felt that it was best left at that.

"The police are going to find Dad," he told him, the feeling of pride swelling again in his chest. "I think…I think he _wants_ to be arrested. But, then there's his reputation…he was sober when we got home, I could tell." Kankurou wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or Neji anymore, but the younger teen was listening, nodding his head in response.

"Where are you going to stay after that?"

Any positive feeling that had resurfaced recently crashed back to their blackened pit. That was a good question; where _were_ they going to stay? He wanted to stay in Konoha; it had done so much for their little family in the short time they had been there. However, they _did_ have someone…

"I…I really don't know…we have someone, though. A guardian," he said, feeling uneasy. "But I haven't seen him since Mom's funeral." Was it possible that Yashamaru had stayed in the same house all these years? It was, very possible, actually; Yashamaru was by no means rich and he wouldn't have been able to afford moving. "I have something I need to take care of," he told anyone who was listening, standing up and leaving the room.

* * *

Neji watched with confused eyes, wondering where Kankurou was going. He didn't follow, though, knowing that the older teen probably needed time alone to sort everything out. Their entire lifestyle was changing, the black fading and revealing old, faint-but-repairable colors. He only hoped that he could be part of that new lifestyle, to help them learn how to live without fear. 

He hated to admit it to himself, but he was almost sad that Kankurou had said that there was a guardian they could go to. Chances were that it was from the city they had moved from, and then, Neji wouldn't ever see them again, possibly. He knew it was selfish, but he and Gaara had just begun to sprout as a couple, and he didn't want to leave the redhead, not yet. Not ever.

Did Gaara want to go back to that city, the one that held the majority of his childhood? Some people, once they moved, never wanted to go back. The memories were often too painful. Could this possibly be the case? Neji thought that it very well could be; so much stuff (bad stuff, he knew) had happened there. After all, that was where the majority of the abuse had happened.

No, he was being selfish. If Gaara wanted to go back to their hometown, that was up to him. He'd have to learn to deal with it, maybe beg Hiashi to let them visit or to have him go over there. They'd keep in touch somehow, wouldn't they? Most long-distance relationships (friendship or more) never lasted, the miles swallowing up the connection and burying it under the earth, after a while, fading to nothing.

Hiashi…wait, there was something…

'CRAP!' Hiashi thought that he would be home at four! It was practically five now, if not past it! Standing up quickly, not bothering to say anything because Temari was still asleep, he darted through the same doors Kankurou had, looking for a pay phone.

He went through three rooms before he found one in a children's waiting room. Feeling awkward standing there, his fifteen years seeming very out of place amongst sick toddlers, he dug through his pockets and unearthed a quarter, sliding it into the machine. He dialed his number and waited, somewhat patiently, for someone to pick up.

"Hyuuga residence," came a high-pitched voice. Hinata and Hanabi sounded nearly the same, but Hinata stuttered, so…

"Hanabi, look, I have to talk to Uncle Hiashi," he said, trying to make it quick.

"Oh, Neji, he's so mad at you!" the nine-year-old chirped happily. "You were supposed to be home at four!"

"I know, Hanabi, this is seriously urgent, let me speak to him!" he told her; trying to keep his voice in check since very close by was a mother with a sleeping infant in her lap.

"Fine, fine, hold on." Hanabi put the phone down, and Neji couldn't hear what was happening on the other end until he heard another phone click.

"Neji? Neji, where are you?" his uncle demanded, sounding annoyed. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago."

"Yes, Uncle, I know that, but…something really…_really_ urgent came up," he said, feeling his voice crack. "R-remember the friend I had over a couple days ago? The redhead?"

"Yes, I do remember…" there was a suspicious tone to his uncle's voice, one that almost made Neji worry. He went on to explain the predicament and that he were at the hospital. By the time he was finished, he had been reduced to tears. The mother next to him shot him a bewildered look.

"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, unconvincingly.

"Are you sure? Neji, I'm going to come over there, is that okay? Will your friend or his siblings mind?"

"They probably won't…go ahead…just…don't bring Hanabi, please, she won't understand the seriousness of this," he asked, hoping his uncle would understand.

"Fine, I won't bring either of them, and I'll be right over, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, bye." He hung up, sniffling and wiping his eyes with his sleeve. The mother cast him a sympathetic glance and reached over to the table beside her to hand him a tissue.

"Thanks," he muttered, blowing his nose and throwing out the tissue on his way out. Well, now Hiashi knew. In less than a week, The Secret had transformed from a denied-but-secretly-true rumor to what was sure to be headline news. He felt sick, but at the same time, happy that finally, it was ending, and that he, a mere adolescent, did something about it.

* * *

Even after Neji had left, Gaara was very unsure of these people surrounding him, touching him. Though he had calmed down from before, he was very uneasy when white gloved hands prodded him, in areas where it already hurt, shooting pain through his body. He tried to tell them to stop, but they remained deaf to his little whimpers. Once, one of the men had told him that this was for his own good. 

Gaara wasn't so sure of _that._ He wanted Neji with him. Neji was a comfort factor, these cold hands weren't. He needed that melodious voice whispering sweet nothings in his ear, warm, not sterile, unprotected arms wrapping around him. He needed something – anything – but this. It felt that it had been eternity, but according to the clock on the wall, it had only been about twenty minutes since he had left the room.

Finally, the white-clad men seemed to be done with him. They had assured him repeatedly that they wouldn't hurt him, but even so, Gaara had begun to get very nervous, especially as their touch went lower and lower down his scrawny body. Once their hands left, he found it was easier to breathe, but the silence that had been cut by monotonous medical drone was back, filling the room.

Everyone lied; silence was a sound. It filled a room quicker than a carbon monoxide leak, filling his ears and contorting his senses. Sometimes, he liked that. Sometimes, it helped him get away. Right now, when all he wanted was to escape thoughts and memories, the silence assaulted him, piercing delicate eardrums and filling his head with images he wanted for force away.

"_Shut the fuck up, you little whore!"_

Whimpering, he turned his head back to bury it into the stark white pillow, trying to will the image away from his mind's eye, perhaps to be reflected on years from now, and only maybe then, when it wouldn't hurt so bad. It hurt now, it had hurt then, and he wanted to forget. Oh, how he wanted to forget. Usually, he would forget things after a while, losing track of where bruises and abrasions had come from and eventually losing interest. This, he knew would be impossible to force away, and the pain would be as fresh as it had been just a few hours ago.

Nothing had ever hurt like that before. He had thought at first that the blindfold wouldn't make a difference, as he was far used to his father's harsh blows. However, even though he knew what was to come, and he dreaded it, trying to, at the same time, make his body will away some of the pain beforehand, it had hurt like nothing else. He had been cut, burned, beaten black and blue and broken, but never torn apart from the inside, feeling muscle rip and the blood drip in a sickening rhythm down his leg.

He knew, and he was pretty sure (coming to this conclusion with an intense wave of nausea only kept down by the fact he had not eaten in a couple of meals) that his father knew it, too, that he was too small for something of that size ripping through him. The only relief he had that kept him from hating himself like nothing ever before was that he knew his auburn-haired tormentor hadn't done it to pleasure himself, but merely to inflict pain on his son. He was used to that, it stopped depressing him around the age of five. If he had just been used a sick form of pleasure with no other motive, he knew that he would spiral into a charcoal coated pit of despair, never to surface.

That was the only reason why Neji had been able to touch him. He had read a book once, and the girl raped hadn't let anyone touch her, no one at all. He was so selfish; he _wanted_ Neji's touch, his comforting words. He knew he didn't deserve them, but did that mean he couldn't ask? Other people asked, didn't they? Why couldn't he?

"_You selfish little bastard! Is this what you wanted? Is it? ANSWER ME!"_

There were those memories again. Why wouldn't they go away? Were they intent on plaguing him for eternity? He wanted…he wanted Neji. He wanted Neji more than he wanted Kankurou, because he knew Kankurou was angry beyond console, angry with himself, angry with their father, and Gaara didn't like to see him angry. He hated to admit it, but when Kankurou was angry, he almost looked like their father, an image that would haunt him for eternity.

He loved Kankurou, he really did, but he was just too angry. He loved Temari, too, but Temari…she was too emotional. He couldn't bring himself to shed any more tears, though he did try, but Temari would bawl at the sight of his pathetic body. He didn't blame her; he could only imagine how helpless he looked, hardly able to move without pain filling his senses, pain worse than what he had ever felt before.

He hated being helpless. As used to it as he was, he hated it. It made him feel like a small child, which in a sense, he could've easily pulled off. He hated being small, hated being so easy to hurt. If he were stronger, Temari and Kankurou would be happier. Hell, even his _father_ would be happier. Perhaps their life would've been better, but he had to be defective.

**D E F E C T I V E**

The word was branded on him darker than his deepest scar. Neji was like the whiteout that could cover it up, make him look beautiful. He wanted that whiteout, wanted it so bad right now. Where was Neji? He felt so selfish, but something inside him, a voice refusing to be silenced, told him that Neji could heal him. He wanted to be healed, right now. He didn't want to be tainted anymore.

* * *

It had taken Kankurou a long while, but finally, he managed to find a directory of the phone numbers for Sunagakure. He remembered the address, just not the number, which was somewhat strange, but nonetheless okay. Finding what he was looking for, 15 Meiru Ave., Kankurou speed dialed the number, holding the cheap, plastic payphone to his ear with unhindered anxiety, his lower lip disappearing to be gnawed on by his teeth. 

"Hello?" came a friendly, but tired sounding voice on the other end.

"Yashamaru?" Kankurou tried, knowing that his hope was very obvious.

"Speaking," came the same voice, casually.

"Yashamaru, this is…this is Kankurou," he said slowly, wishing with all his heart that the blonde man would believe him. It was a possibility that he wouldn't. The last time they had spoken, Kankurou had been five, and his voice had definitely changed drastically since then.

"K-kankurou?" Yashamaru asked, in disbelief. "Oh, no way! It's been so long! I haven't been keeping in touch at _all_, how's everything been going? I wanted to contact you when that rumor came out, but I never got the chance to, and then you moved…and…wow…"

"Yashamaru…about that rumor," he started, truly unsure of how he was going to word this. He heard the faint noise of Yashamaru's breathing changing, as if he was anticipating something. "It…it was true."

Silence rang for a few moments, crucial information inserting itself into the bowels of the brain. "Oh…oh, my god…Kankurou…it…it was?" Yashamaru managed after a few moments, sounding breathless. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he said truthfully. "Gaara…he's…he's not. Y-you see…it's been going on since…since just after Mom died…a-and…it…I-it…it finally got…got too far," he stammered, voice giving out on him.

"T-too…too far?" His uncle sounded fearful, running through possibilities.

"He…he…oh, Yashamaru…r-r…rape," he whispered, finally confronting it with words. His chances of denial, carefully planned out, died before him, but he forced down violent sobs. Again, silence filled the conversation, suffocating, choking, until…

"Oh…oh, my…my…I-I'll be there…as…as soon as possible…"

Without so much as a 'goodbye', his uncle ended the conversation leaving Kankurou feeling worse than he ever had. They say that after the death of someone, it often takes a long while for it to truly sink in. Everything had been so high-speed and dreamlike, he had been subconsciously hoping he would wake up and his brother would be okay, not in this white Hell. Now, having actually confronted what happened, reality had sunk in, for good this time, hollowing out the feeling that had been euphoria moments before and turning it into raw guilt.

He wandered back into the ER lobby, taking a seat next to Neji and plopping his head in his hands. He heard the younger teen beside him shift in his chair and felt the hand on his back, trying to comfort him. No words were spoken, but this silence was a comfortable one. Kankurou didn't feel like explaining why he was so upset, and Neji didn't know how to comfort him.

They sat like that for what seemed to be hours before anything significant happened. Doctors had been filing in and out of the rooms, calling out the names of patients in their monotonous drawl. It was always obvious whether or not the news was optimistic or not by the sometimes obnoxious reactions from parents and other important people. When another one of the white-coated men stepped into the waiting room, Kankurou, Neji, and Temari (who had recently woken up) thought nothing of it, until the man spoke.

"Is there anybody here for Sabaku Gaara?"

As one, they jumped up, trying not to sprint over to the news bearer. Their curiosity apparent, the doctor told them, in his unwavering tone, that Gaara was soon ready to be released and that while he would be walking with a limp for a week at the longest, the bleeding had stopped and nothing was infected.

"Well, can he walk out of his room?" Temari asked, concerned.

"He has not left the bed yet," the doctor told her. "But the nurses are preparing him to move. Since he had been sedated before, and he hasn't moved at all in the last hours, he'll be rather unsteady on his feet for a while, but sitting upright will hurt possibly worse."

In a simultaneous wince, all three of them understood. Nothing more needed to be said. "We…still need to stay her for a little bit," Kankurou said, somewhat awkwardly. At the doctor's questioning glance, he continued. "The officers are working on putting…who did this in custody."

Nodding, the man granted them permission to stay until everything was sorted out. He led them down the hall to Gaara's room again, opening the door. Inside, two women wearing pink and purple scrubs were helping Gaara from the bed onto shaky, pale legs resembling toothpicks until the ankles, where they bulged gently from the bone.

Neji, at this sight, was partly relieved that his redheaded boyfriend was okay, but partly horrified at his size. The hospital gown, unlike all his loose clothing, did nothing to hide his weight. The jut of his ankles, wrists, and collarbone stuck out as if they were black against the ivory skin. Though his legs shook slightly, however, Gaara stayed upright, one small hand gripping the bed tightly, the other held out before him, as if testing himself to see if he could take a step.

After an eternity that Neji spent trying to will himself into thinking that Gaara was _not_ that painfully thin, the boy took a staggering step, his hand leaving the bar and held out, not all the way, but enough to keep balance. At the sight, he couldn't help but smile.

'_He's finally healing.'_

* * *

Okay, I said this was going to be the last chapter…but you know what? Too much stuff happens…sorry, next time will be the last; I _swear _it. 


	28. Found

Lost and Found

By: Junsui Kegasu

A/N: Last one, I swear.

Disclaimer: I have officially stopped putt- …damn, I just did…

* * *

It had always been in Yashamaru's nature to take things at his own pace. Contrary to normal belief, this phrase generally meant that people took things slowly. However, when he had been caught up with the lives of his niece and nephews, Yashamaru moved the fastest he had in his life, pulling on a jacket, grabbing his wallet and keys, and bolting out the door to his car. 

Now, he was speeding down the highway, pushing his speed limit allowance as he tried to make the averagely three-hour drive (with a food stop) go as fast as possible. He was almost there; he could feel it. Dangerous as it was to drive to a place without a map for the first time, especially when you were in a blind panic, he thought he was doing pretty well. The signs that he had glimpsed on his way were telling him that as he progressed, Konoha was getting closer.

With a sense of relief starting to spread through him, Yashamaru now had time to let his mind wander. How could he have no noticed it back in Sunaga? He had kept an eye out for the beloved children of his late sister, but he had never noticed anything unusual, especially about Gaara. Then again, Gaara was barely outside and Temari and Kankurou had looked healthy enough. How could he have been so _stupid?_

When the rumor had appeared in the magazines, he had been struck by suspicion, but just as he got the nerve to speak to his brother-in-law, they had moved. The first thought that had crossed his mind was that Konoha was a much more peaceful environment for three children to live in, and he dismissed the rumor as some media-fabricated farce. That was the problem with the media: when they were actually correct, no one believed them.

Briefly, he registered the sign that told him he was as of now in Konoha, but he wouldn't buy it until he saw houses. They must've all grown so much since he had last seen them…at least Gaara, anyways. Temari and Kankurou he had shamelessly spied on, just looking out for them. He had never liked Kazekage and truthfully, he didn't see what his sister could've possibly had.

Thinking of the woman brought back old, painful memories. Though they had been twins, they were like day and night. For starters, he was blonde and she had been a brunette. He had been shy and kind of slow to learn things while she had been the sunspot of school, in all honors' classes. The 'twin bond' everyone talked about was either a myth or they just hadn't had it. Often, Yashamaru had concluded that they weren't related, but yet they had the same blood, thus making them siblings.

He had never felt so strongly connected with her before now, as he sped past the outskirts of town, buildings becoming closer spaced. When he saw a sign that pointed him into the direction of the hospital, he enthusiastically turned, toning down his frantic speed to something acceptable for the middle of the city. Konoha was much bigger than Sunaga, and a lot more prosperous, and thus, the streets were busier, and Yashamaru could easily become involved in an accident if he wasn't careful.

However, there were so many cars on the road! Had they all conspired for the sole purpose of keeping _him_ preoccupied? It seemed likely, very likely, and Yashamaru was going to do whatever he could to get to that hospital! Another turn and he could finally see the looming building in the distance, blue signs telling him with a large white "H" that he was at his destination.

The parking lot was one of the stacked kinds, and it was packed. He realized then that he had absolutely _no _idea where his family was in the large hospital. Opting to just go through the large, obviously 'main' doors, he tried to find a parking lot as close to the bottom as possible. However, the first three floors were completely jammed and the fourth was almost there. Pulling into the first spot he saw, Yashamaru bolted out of the door without giving himself time to stretch from his drive.

He had two options. He could take the elevator and make it to the main floor, or walk back down to the first-level parking lot and walk in through there. This choice was not as obvious as one would like to think, as Yashamaru was not a Konoha citizen, and thus, he had no idea how to navigate his way around their hospital. Hell, he barely knew how to navigate himself around _Sunaga's_ hospital.

After a brief (very, very brief) mental battle, the blonde noticed the aching in his legs, although they hadn't been in much use for a good while, and decided he'd just take the elevator. It was with a grudge that he poked at the buttons to open the door and with nervousness and hesitation that he selected the floor. Floor one seemed blatant, but hospitals could be rather complicated.

He was in luck; the first floor was the main lobby he had sought out. Although the parking lot was full, the owners of the vehicles must've been dispersed throughout the wards, because there was no line at the receptionist desk, and the lobby was mostly empty, with the exception of a few stressed looking people. Seizing his opportunity, Yashamaru made his way to the receptionist's desk.

Without bothering to register the person's physical description, he quickly asked for 'Sabaku Gaara'. After a moment (an oh, so long moment) of waiting, a bored voice told him the room, and without even remembering to thank the kind person, Yashamaru scuttled off to the elevator. He felt anxious, anxious and scared. Would his nephew be prepared to see him? He hadn't exactly been the best family member. He had drifted away, grieving the death of his beloved twin.

He had been so selfish, and now, he supposed he'd just have to pay for it. When the elevator carried him to his destination (the Room of Judgment, as far as he was concerned) he numbly stepped out, surveying his surroundings: Had the receptionist said ER? He couldn't remember, but he could tell immediately that was where he stood. ER brought back painful memories, but he could just feel it: Gaara wouldn't die. He _couldn't _die. He had hardly lived!

No, everything was going to be okay. Everything. And everything meant, well, everything, for lack of a better term. It was the one thing he and his late twin had in common: Hope and optimism. The thought gave Yashamaru confidence, and with newfound vitality, he stepped out into the sanitized world of a waiting room. This time, his hands would cup his broken family and hold them for as long as possible. He wouldn't let them slip through his fingers, not again.

* * *

In his entire fourteen years of being nothing but a frail burden, Gaara had never felt so unsteady in his life. He had learned that once you were knocked down, once you got back up, you were okay, and with that hope, he always managed to stand up. He had always ignored his protesting legs, but right now, he felt that his less-than-healthy weight was too obese for those formerly reliable toothpicks to bear. However, he wouldn't ask for help. That was pushing it. 

Back in the hospital room, although it was eerily silent and frighteningly colorless, he had felt a faint sense of security. He had been convinced that he wasn't being bad in there, but now, walking into the waiting room, into public, the nervousness consumed him again. Gaara glanced to his left, chewing on his bottom lip. Kankurou didn't look as angry any more. In fact, there was a trace of a smile gracing his tanned features. Kankurou's smile always assured him, and calmed him, often giving him the boost of confidence he needed in so many situations, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

The doctor was still with them. Perhaps that was the hinder in his voice, the muffler on his voice box. He wanted to grab onto his big brother's arm and hide from the world. The older teen's size superiority over his own would help greatly, but if he did anything wrong, how would the doctor react? The last thing he wanted was to be sent to some kind of psychiatrist. He knew that given the circumstances, that's exactly what these people wanted to do with him.

Oh, how he wanted to talk to his big brother. He had even lost his feeling of selfishness and unworthiness. He wanted…he wanted…he wanted…

_He wanted._

There was no other way to put it. It was so foreign to him, but _he wanted_. He wanted Neji; he wanted everything to be okay between them. He wanted Kankurou; he wanted his big brother to protect him from the evils that were out in that world; beyond their little world of horror. He knew there was more. He wanted Temari; he wanted to see her happy again. He didn't want to see those fake, scarred smiles. He wanted something, anything, but he couldn't grasp it. It had no physical form.

Without realizing it, they had made it to the doors that separated all those rooms of wounded and sick people from the lobby. Suddenly, Gaara felt very self-conscious of the fact that the only thing adorning his frame was that dreadful hospital gown. It was actually _revealing_, and not in the slightly-too-big-too-low way. Large portions of his chest, displaying the numerous ridges of malnutrition, were visible through the too-large sleeves, and the slit down about midway down his back showed off scars compiling over years and made one sleeve slip almost-off his shoulder, bony, thin, and bruised.

That was the final straw. He refused to show off this weakness to the public. Turning (with some difficulty, as he was still very unsteady on his legs) he tugged weakly on Kankurou's sleeve, his small hand trembling with the effort of merely raising his arm. Unsurprisingly, the older teen turned to him, a benignly curious look decorating his face. Gaara couldn't help but notice he had no kabuki paint right now.

"U-um…" his voice was hardly more than a pathetic whisper, and he tried to raise it, but that muffler still had control of his voice box. Thankfully Kankurou bent down, his ear within inches of his brother's lips. "I-I'm b-barely dec-decent," he said ashamedly, not even bothering to try and suppress his stutter. Kankurou pulled back, surveying him, and then nodded in agreement.

The doctor was about to open the door, but Kankurou cried out for him to stop. When all eyes were on the brunette, he cleared his throat quietly and pulled off the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing over a tee shirt. Handing it to his younger brother, he turned to the confused bystanders. "Not enough clothing," he explained without doing so. The doctor merely shrugged and pushed open the door.

Gaara couldn't help but get the impression that he was leaving sanitation to go back to the real world, where people got hurt and people got sick and everything wasn't so white. Although the whole hospital was bathed in the non-color, perhaps the stench of pain, death, and antiseptics would end beyond those doors. He reveled in the feeling of Kankurou's sweater; the way it wasn't white, the way it wasn't sterilized, the way it had a scent contrasting from the hospital.

He hated this place.

Gaara was sure he was prepared for anything when he opened those doors; stares, glares, and perhaps people sobbing over loved ones. However, there was one face that surprised him, one flushed, worried, shining face amidst the sea of grief.

"Yashamaru?" he called out. Yashamaru's gaze fell on them, but he knew it wasn't because of his voice. Kankurou had called out at the same time. Feeling very abashed when his uncle's eyes trailed over his frame – especially the parts of exposed skin he could see, he hid himself behind Kankurou again, feeling a gentle flush fill his face.

To his right, Neji looked confused…but was there sadness in there too? Why was Neji sad? Was it his fault? He knew that in the end, he would only be a burden to Neji. Feeling his heart sink lower than it was, through his stomach, settling somewhere lower, he chewed on his lip, and looked down, feeling the tears brimming at his eyes.

_'Neji…I'm so sorry…"_

* * *

It was selfish, he told himself. He was being too selfish. They had a guardian to go to, and they would go with that guardian. Still, Neji couldn't describe the immense disappointment that washed through him when he heard Kankurou call out the name of their uncle…Yashamaru, was it? He wanted to keep Gaara with him forever, to hold him and whisper sweet nothings and make everything okay. 

And he knew that it was wrong. He tried to look happy, tried to look relieved, but it was failing, and he could tell. Why did Gaara have to leave? In truth, they hadn't even been in the city long, and now they were leaving…it saddened him greatly. He could only hope that they could stay in touch, perhaps visit, but he knew, as he had known earlier, that it wouldn't work. They were bound to separate and find new friends.

'Well, here goes nothing,' he told himself as their little group stepped into the lobby. Gaara was intent on keeping himself hidden from the world, clinging to the back of Kankurou's shirt like a toddler with separation anxiety. If there were different circumstances, he would've said it was cute. However, right now, it only brought a pang of sadness to his heart, knowing _why_ Gaara was so afraid, why his steps were slow and he walked with a slight limp.

He was almost surprised when police officers came into the room, but he remembered that Kankurou had been talking to them earlier, and the shock ebbed off quickly. He fell behind the group, feeling out of place when Temari, Kankurou, with Gaara in tow, went up to the blonde man; a family reunion.

Speaking of family, where was Hiashi, anyways? Everything was fuddled around; he didn't really care. He needed a place to sit down and sort his scattered thoughts, file them away into their respective folders, and then, only then, would he cry for his loss. Suddenly, he was exhausted. Slumping forward in his chair, Neji let his face rest in his cupped hands, trying to relax all his muscles.

The silence ringing in his ears was comforting, and he jumped when he heard a tiny, pitiful whisper call his name. Trying to hide his startled state, he looked up, giving Gaara his full attention. The smaller teen was standing in front of him, his stance showing how nervous he was. Thin index fingers were joining themselves together, and then separating, joining, separating…

"D-do…do you…w-wanna meet Uncle Y-Yashamaru?"

Meet Yashamaru? He wasn't sure. He thought he might break down at the thought of his boyfriend leaving him if he met the man that was to take him away. He hated himself for being so selfish, but he didn't want to let Gaara go; as silly as it sounded, he was in love. He couldn't exactly turn Gaara down, though, especially not with the way he was standing, so patiently awaiting his response, so he nodded his head and stood up to follow the redhead's shuffle across the room.

Yashamaru was a kind looking person with feminine features. Actually, he resembled Gaara in quite a few ways. Through Neji's jealousy came a wave of relief, relief that his damaged friend would be in good hands, whether it was with him or someone else. Just then, even though he should've felt overwhelmed, and nothing should've seemed okay at all, he felt at peace. Everything would be okay.

"Hello," Yashamaru greeted pleasantly, reaching forward to ever so gently embrace Gaara in a hug. Not to Neji's surprise, the boy flinched, but tried not to make it noticeable to his uncle.

"Hi," he told him back. "I'm Neji."

"Yashamaru. Is this city nice?" At the question, the blonde looked around the room, his eyes settling on something to his right. When Neji looked he wasn't startled to find Kankurou conversing with the police again.

"Um…I think so…I mean, we've had low crime rates…" Neji told him, unsure of most of the information. Truthfully, he had never seen anything of utter idiocy to bring down their city's reputation on the television, so he had merely assumed that they were good about it.

"I see, that is a good thing…" There was a brief pause in which Yashamaru let his gaze wander to the small boy encased in his arms. Gaara had relaxed by now, sinking into his uncle's arms. Something warm filled Neji when he saw how protected his boyfriend looked. "The media is going to be soaring…they'll be trying to interview you all."

Neji hadn't even considered that. Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara _were_ the children of a former political leader…something like this was exactly what those annoying reporters loved. A spark of anger ignited when he thought of how frightening that would be to them, namely Gaara. "That's true…damn." He hadn't meant to curse, and was about to apologize, but Yashamaru chuckled softly.

"I suppose I can try to take care of it, then… They won't send the reporters from Sunaga, so they won't pester me too much. The Sunaga ones would since they got a story out of me so easily last time."

Wait, was this man saying what Neji thought? He was in disbelief. "You m-mean, you plan on living _here?_" he asked, awed. Yashamaru nodded in response, a smile gracing his features. "Yes, Sunaga holds far too many bad memories."

Neji beamed. "I think I could get you a residency, too…it wouldn't be hard, see my uncle-"

"Neji."

He turned to whoever had called his name (it wasn't like it was a common one, after all) and was surprised to see his uncle. "What took you so long?" he couldn't help but ask, walking away from Yashamaru to speak with the older man.

"Well, traffic was really bad and your cousins weren't happy that I wouldn't tell them what was going on." He spotted Gaara, still enveloped in Yashamaru's arms. Pulling Neji out of their earshot, he bent down to whisper, "Is he alright?"

Neji wasn't too sure how he should answer that. _Was_ Gaara okay? He was healing, but he wasn't sure how to describe it, so he decided to keep his silence. Kindly, his uncle didn't pressure him.

* * *

"We have caught Sabaku Kazekage and he is now being held in prison until we manage to get him to court." 

It was only one sentence, one out of billions he had heard in his lifetime, but that one sentence, to Kankurou, screamed _redemption._ One sentence meant everything, anything. However, there was one tear in his cloth of perfection.

"Will Gaara be required to attend court?" he asked, dreading the answer. If Gaara so much as glanced at their father again, Kankurou knew that he'd be rendered to a stuttering, sobbing mess, mortified to tell the truth and instead get rescue their father from the sentence he ultimately deserved.

"No, your brother will not. You, however, as the one who reported this, will."

Well, that was fine with him. He wasn't afraid to tell the truth, and, if necessary, exaggerate it if it meant putting his and his siblings' tormentor behind bars. He felt the minor tear in Perfection mend itself, and found the euphoria bubbling within him again, it's source a volcano in his soul that had stayed dormant for far too long. He felt…he wasn't sure…but he felt something…and it wasn't bad.

Thanking the officer truthfully, and even remembering to bow in respect, Kankurou left. He made his way back over to his uncle and Temari. He was pleasantly surprised to see his sister attached to Yashamaru's arm and Gaara enveloped in an embrace. It was a long time that he had seen Gaara that comfortably in the presence of an adult, and it made him happy.

"Kankurou, is everything sorted out?" Temari asked. Lately, she had been strangely silent, and her voice sounded strange, but nice in the air.

"Yeah…I need to go court to finalize everything with it, though," he told her.

"But, what if he managed to overpower you?" Temari was alarmed; he could hear it in her voice.

"It won't happen. I refuse to under exaggerate anything. If I need to _over_ exaggerate in order to get him out of our lives, I will," he told her, his voice firm and assuring. Gaara, who had gone slightly pale(r), regained the little color he had, a tiny twitch of a smile crossing his face.

As one, they made their way over to Neji and Hiashi, who were talking quietly together. As soon as they were within hearing range, the conversation stopped and Hiashi smiled warmly. "Yashamaru-san, it is my understanding that you are in need of a home to live with these minors. I happen to have a residency available, which I own not too far from where I live now, and where Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara previously lived for you to live in, if you wished to."

"Oh, sir, that would really be so kind of you…you really don't have to…I'm sure I can find a place in this city, really-"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Yashamaru-san. Plus, I'm sure that they would all like to be close to one another." At his words, Gaara and Neji blushed softly. Kankurou smiled; that really would be nice. Neji had been such a benefactor in their lives; it would be painful for him to suddenly disappear from it.

"Well…if you insist…I suppose I could…"

As the adults went on, talking about rent, Gaara gently squirmed away from his uncle, allowing Neji to embrace him, pulling the redhead against his chest. Kankurou was sure that he had never felt this happy in his entire existence, and it soared within him. Hyuuga Neji was a miracle on their dreary lives, and a hero in his opinion. Heroes could be anyone, minor or legal, he realized. He had never thought about it much until now.

But Neji was more than a hero. He was the light in darkness, the oxygen in atmosphere, and the optimism in gloom. Because of him, so many things were changed. Some events had happened, some events were avoided; most importantly, he had changed them all as people. Neji was more than a friend, more than a boyfriend, more than a hero, and because of him, they were going on to live better lives.

They were found.

* * *

KYAH! I FINISHED! I FINISHED! YAY! YAAAAY! PRAISE ME! PRAAAISE ME! Oh, this is sadly short, though…it's like…8 pages…but it's a lot of words, 'cause there are big paragraphs. Well, feedback people! I'd love to thank you all, and be on the look out for more stories! I do plan on writing more! I love you all! 


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